


Of Ravens and Hawks

by My writting is kinda boring tbh (Kevinblu)



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Also a supporting family, Character Study, Everyone teases the heck out of each other tho, Gay Cats, I swear, I think it is a Character Study at least, It's mainly about the MC interacting with other cats, M/M, One at the time, Ravensight is just not part of it the majority of the time, Somewhere, WindClan (Warriors), cause he's shy and not good in crowds, there IS a plot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:41:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 43,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27769954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kevinblu/pseuds/My%20writting%20is%20kinda%20boring%20tbh
Summary: Ravensight doesn't really lead a particularly exciting life, even though sometimes he wants to.He's going to regret that as he becomes a mentor, sort of fails upwards into a position of pseudo-authority, discovers a bunch of stuff about Windclan he'd rather not know, struggles with his place in the clan and in the world, loses his sense of purpose from time to time and overthinks all of the things; all the while his family laughts at, and sometimes with, him.He does get a boyfriend in the process, tho.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 48





	1. Ravenkit

**Author's Note:**

> I kinda drafted this during the pandemic and now I'm just writing it as a coherent story for anyone who might find it entertaining.

** Chapter 1 **

** Ravenkit **

Ravenkit found the myriad of movement outside the Windclan nursery strangely fascinating.

There was always something going on in the clan, of course, but today seemed like a special day.

Sat at the den’s entrance, he watched as cats walked by, talked to each other, shared pieces of prey and groomed each other. A couple were sharing tongues in the shade, while others came in and out of camp. Despite the smiling faces, there was a clear uneasiness in the air, as if everyone was apparently expecting something to happen.

In the meantime, he focused on the smells. Every cat here had a particular one, but also a general scent that his mother and him had too. Windclan scent, he assumed. Each cat, each den, each piece of moss and prey here reeked of this scent. It made him feel at home, for reasons he didn’t fully understand yet. But it was a really comforting smell, almost like his mother’s.

His clanmates’ scent was odd today too. It wasn’t quite fear-scent, but it was almost that. There was something weird about it. They smelled anxious and uncomfortable, kind of like something was missing in the clan and they were desperate for that something to appear. It made him uncomfortable as well, so he tried to focus on something to distract himself.

Across the clearing, next to the entrance of another den, sat a small golden tabby cat. Bigger than himself, Ravenkit noted, but still relatively small. This cat’s stillness contrasted heavily with the rest of the camp’s residents. The cat in question obviously didn’t sleep in the nursery with them and was too small to be a warrior, so they were probably an apprentice.

He hadn’t seen that cat leave the camp before, though. At least, not as often as the warrior’s apprentices tended to do. He knew because he spent a lot of time looking outside the nursery. He didn’t know many names yet, but he could recognize pelts and scents. He had a good idea who was a warrior and who was being mentored.

This golden cat had only come close to the nursery once and he couldn’t really have a good sniff of his scent. However, he had perceived a faint aroma of flowers and herbs. It was quite similar to the one that the kind old tom that visited them from time to time had.

Was this cat his apprentice, then?

He hoped so! He liked that tom. The herbs he brought made his mother feel nice and also made her have more milk for himself and his brother. It tasted kind of funny afterwards, yes, but there was more of it! Having two cats bringing herbs for his mother could only mean good things, right?

Speaking of his mother and brother, he turned around to face them. The outside world had already fallen in repetition and a seemingly improvised routine, with all his clanmates still hanging around camp waiting and not doing much else new. The novelty of their morning activities was gone.

His mother laid asleep in a bed of moss with his brother curled up against her. Whatever it was that had the other cats so nervous couldn’t really be such a big deal, he concluded, if his mother was unbothered by it. He decided to join them. There wasn’t anything else to do, anyways. He settled next to his brother and felt him instinctively snuggle closer to him.

Ravenkit and his mother were almost identical, both having pelts as dark as a starless night. The only difference was their eyes, amber for her, green for him. Otherwise, they would be indistinguishable. At least, if it weren’t for the current size difference, of course, but he would grow up.

On the other paw, his brother was quite a peculiar sight. His face, paws and tail were black like them, but the rest of his body was something between white and very light grey. He stood out a lot next to his family. And his eyes! Stars above, his _eyes_! Each a lake of the most purest blue! Ravenkit had never seen such a thing!

Literally, he had never seen another cat with eyes like those. Maybe in other clan some cat had them, but there wasn’t any other cat with blue eyes in Windclan.

Ravenkit found that odd.

A loud yowl rang across the camp, followed by the sound of many cats assembling and happy cheering. His bother jerked awake, his eyes darting back and forth across the nursery. His mother slowly opened her eyes and yawned, slowly turning her hear towards the exit of the nursery. From this angle, she couldn’t see anything, but she didn’t truly needed to.

“That sure sounds like Silentleap is now Silentstar, alright” she muttered warmly “A new leader rises in Windclan”

“She is way too young to be leader, Hollowstripe, and I’m not the only one that thinks that. I don’t know why Starclan would allow this” Another queen’s voice commented.

Ravenkit had forgotten about Kestrelstalker, if he was being honest. He often did. Mainly because her scent was so embedded into the nursery that it was hard to notice it some days.

He also disliked her name. Too many weird sounds.

The she-cat herself was a kind individual, though. The few interaction he’d had with her had been very positive. She didn’t have any kits yet, but if she was in the nursery then surely some were on their way. He was looking forward to having more denmates.

His mother turned towards Kestrelstalker.

“We cheered when she became deputy, but now we complain that she is leader?” Hollowstripe yawned again and gave her paw a lick “We knew this could happen. That’s the point of having a deputy. She earned this”

“Her becoming our leader isn’t the problem. Her becoming our leader _now_ is”

“The clans are going through a period of unprecedented peace” Hollowstripe’s whiskers twitched, annoyance starting to show in her voice “Disputes are few and far between, borders are lax, prey is abundant. Even loners and kittypets seem more eager to collaborate with us than opposing our claims of territory. Thanks to them, we have complete access to the Twolegs gardens and all the herbs there. I’ve never seen our medicine den so overflowing with catnip and marigolds before!” Her eyes returned to the entrance, her ears trying to pick up words coming from outside “If there was any time to have a young leader, now it’s the time. She’ll chose a deputy and the senior warriors can help run things until she gets the hang of it. Spottedstar trusted her, Starclan trusts her, I will trust her too”

Kestrelstalker sighed.

“You… certainly have a lot of faith in her, huh?”

“Someone has to”

“I know” Kestrelstalker laid her head on her front paws, a pained expression flashing on her face “I just wish Spottedstar could’ve lived a little bit longer, you know? Just enough to see our kits…”

“We all do, I would imagine” His mother’s gaze turned more sympathetic in an instant. She stood up and slowly paddled towards the other queen. She licked her twice and then rested her head on top of hers “He’ll watch over them from Starclan… and your clan will watch over them here”

“Thank you…”

The queens didn’t say anything else after that, so Ravensight turned his attention to his brother. Amusingly, Lightkit had fallen asleep again at some point, sure that there was no threats present. Ravensight smiled and, as he heard his mother returning, he laid down and snuggled up against his brother again. 

He was eager to meet this Silentstar. Maybe that golden apprentice too. They seemed nice.

Only two moons more and he would be an apprentice.


	2. Ravenpaw

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shrewspring tries to be a worried but cool and supportive mentor.
> 
> Results are mixed.

** Chapter 2: **

** Ravenpaw **

So Ravenpaw was nine moons old now and had had the chance to meet both Silentstar and the peculiar golden tabby apprentice, along with a couple other cats.

True to the word of the queens, Silentstar was younger than most warriors. As a kit, he hadn’t thought about it very much, but as an apprentice he found it odd she’d be chosen as deputy to begin with, let alone leader. She was a grey and white cat of a somewhat meek demeanor and soft-spoken, very respectful of elders and medicine cats. She was nothing like what the elders’ stories had taught him what a leader was supposed to look like. Superficially, at least. In every other aspect, she unquestionably was.

Ravenpaw felt an otherworldly admiration towards her, an aura of holiness that emanated from her figure every time she stood above them and called a meeting. Tail held up high, fire in her eyes, words soft but that at the same time sharper than her claws.

She had opened the discussion to consider catching frogs in the territory, should more fresh-kill be needed in the harshest seasons. It was rejected by elders and senior warriors, true, but the fact that it was taken seriously by Windclan and actively discussed was astonishing. It was truly a testament to her oratory skills.

Ravenpaw suspected that was partially the reason why she was made deputy. Spottedstar wanted a diplomat as successor, not just a warrior. Maybe it was done in hopes of maintaining the peace forged in his time.

Silentstar’s deputy Yelloweyes, a pure white she-cat of pretty obvious eye color, towered next to her. Even the medicine cat was larger than her. That didn’t really matter to Ravenpaw. In time, everyone would learn to either respect her or fear her, as they did with any other leader. His mother believed in her and so did he.

Speaking about medicine cats, with each passing day Ravenpaw found himself growing closer and closer to Webpaw, the golden tabby apprentice. He had been correct in assuming this cat was the apprentice of Palestorm, the clan’s current medicine cat. Said cat was very old and many were worried that this was probably his last season with the clan. Ravenpaw had heard that these worries doubled when he announced he would be taking an apprentice. And then tripled when he announced that the trip to the Moonpool to get Silentstar her nine lives would be his last. He just didn’t have the strength to make the trip anymore.

One thing Ravenpaw couldn’t wrap his head around, no matter how hard he tried to, was Palestorm’s name. He was a dark brown tabby. Why would his mother call him Palekit? There HAD to be a story there, somewhere. Ravenpaw wanted to hear it so badly, but he would never ask for it. He knew it’d be disrespectful.

Now, Webpaw’s name, he understood. There WAS a kind of funny story behind it. Apparently, when he was born, he managed to snatch and entangle himself with all the cobwebs Palestorm had brought into the nursery. The story was of questionable veracity, but at least made sense. Also, it fitted the role he had chosen in the clan. So it was a good name and Ravenpaw liked it. He just couldn’t wait to hear what his friend’s full name would be.

He was hunting something for his friend right now. Well, not exactly. He was just in a hunting patrol with his brother Lightpaw and their mentors Shrewspring and Bushclaw respectively. Lightpaw and his mentor were on the moor, chasing rabbits. He and his mentor were looking for birds among the bushes and rocks. Not many cats in the clan liked birds very much, always preferring rabbit if available, but Webpaw did and that was reason enough for Ravenpaw to at least try catching one every time he was assigned to a hunting patrol.

He knew the scent of every single bird species in the territory. He memorized every chirp, every song, and every sound their feet made against the soil. He could smell them before hearing them and could hear them before seeing them. There was no use hiding from him. They could be buried in the darkest depth of the Dark Forrest, and to him they’d be like fireflies in a moonless night. He was shaping up to be the best tracker in the clan!

He fell into a hunting crouch a few paw steps away from a particular bush. There was a dove on the other side. He knew it. He had known for a while, but was waiting to get closer. From somewhere behind him, Shrewspring noticed and immediately did the same. His mentor remained motionless and silent, leaving the job to him.

Ravenpaw crept forwards methodically, taking each step just as his mentor had taught him. He twitched his ears and heard the bird unfurling its wings.

The world stopped for a second…

…

He adjusted his position…

…

The dove closed its wings again. It was just stretching.

The apprentice’s paws fell on the bird’s back, pinning it against the ground, and his fangs bit into its throat before a single sound could escape from it. The dove went limp in seconds.

“Nicely done!” His mentor cheered, catching up with him. He sat down and shook his head before continuing “Now, if only your rabbit hunting techniques were that good…”

Ravenpaw finished burying his catch, the joy of his accomplishment slightly faltering.

“I try, but I’m not fast enough to catch up with them in the open. It’s hard to ambush them in the moor too”

“We are _Windclan._ We run on the moor and we catch rabbits. That’s our thing” Shrewspring sighed “Your eagerness and talent in non-traditional prey hunting is commendable, but you must help provide the clan with its main source of food”

“Why do you bring me out here to catch birds and then berate me for catching birds?” Ravenpaw exclaimed, then started walking in a random direction, hoping to scent another prey. There was a crow nearby, but it seemed that it was on top of a tree.

_Not worth it. I’ll find something else._

“Catching birds and forest prey is a nice supplement when rabbits are scarce, so it’s a skill all warriors must have” Shrewspring was following him “But it’s just that: a supplement. You can’t make a career out of hunting only birds. And you most certainly won’t become a warrior until you can consistently catch rabbits”

Ravenpaw wasn’t sure if that was meant to be a threat, a warning or just a statement. Either way, it probably didn’t have the result Shrewspring was going for.

“Fine! I’ll move into the medicine den with Webpaw as soon as Palestorm joins Starclan then! I’ll collect herbs and hunt for him” He lowered his voice, but made sure his mentor could still hear him “At least he’s grateful when I bring him birds, not like the rest of the clan”

Shrewspring abruptly stopped and remained silent. For some reason, that scared him more than any other possible reaction. Ravenpaw turned around and looked into his mentor’s eyes. He was eyeing him carefully, his face expressionless. After a couple of seconds that felt like moons, Shrewspring tilted his head slightly upwards and spoke again.

“You spend a lot of time with our medicine cat apprentice. More than with any other cat…” Ravenpaw still couldn’t identify any emotion on his mentor’s face. He was starting to get nervous.

“Me and my brother spend almost the same amount of time with Webpaw. And Kestrelstaker’s kits are too small to hang out with us yet”

“No, they are not” Frustration started to be perceivable in Shrewspring’s voice. It wasn’t ideal, but it was an emotion at last “They will be made apprentices in a matter of days. And your brother is only around Webpaw because you are”

That was true. Lightpaw wasn’t particularly fond of Webfur. He wasn’t mean to him or anything, but he tended to avoid him unless Ravenpaw was there too. Had his mentor talked about this with Lightspaw’s behind his back?

“I really don’t understand what the point you are trying to make is right now” His ears perked up and his head spun right. A small twig had been snapped a short distance from them. The sound came from the other side of a small tree.

He signaled his mentor with his tail and Shrewspring stood still in silence. Ravenpaw approached the tree as quietly as he could until he was sure he could cover the remaining distance with a couple of jumps. He fell into a hunting crouch again and focused his senses. His ears told him where his target was, his nose told him that it wasn’t a bird or rabbit, but it was still prey.

He took a deep breath and darted forward. With one jump he was next to the tree, with the second he fell on top of his target. He immediately leaned down and bit, applying pressure until whatever he had in his mouth stopped moving.

He let it fall on the ground and gave it a good look for the first time.

It was a mouse.

“How…fortunate” He said to no one in particular “Yelloweyes loves these, for some reason. It’ll be a nice treat for her before she joins the nursery. They’ll only get harder to find in the next moons”

He picked up his fresh-kill and turned back to his mentor, who was looking at him with shock in his eyes. Any other day, this would probably alarm him. But today, his mentor seemed to be in the mood of showcasing his whole range of face-making skills. He had to admit, they were pretty impressive.

Ravenpaw rolled his eyes and tried to walk around him, but Shrewspring stood in his way again. With a quick movement of his paw, the older tom snatched the mouse from the apprentice’s mouth. The lifeless body flopped in the ground with a wet sound. Ravenpaw just sighed.

“So mouse is also out of the menu, huh? I swear, we’ll all starve to death if you ever get to be deputy” He knew that was a ludicrous notion, but he found it amusing.

“Ravenpaw, who told you that?” Shrewspring snapped, taking a step forwards.

“It was just a joke. I meant nothing by it”

“No… about Yelloweyes. Who told you that?” The older tom took another step forwards, forcing Ravenpaw to sit on his haunches.

“Webpaw, who else? You were just complaining about how much time I spend in the medicine den. I thought it would be obvious”

The mentor started circling his apprentice but not exactly looking at him. Ravenpaw lifted a paw and started licking it as innocently as he could. He was starting to get worried. Shrewspring was really on edge today, for some reason.

“Our deputy’s pregnancy isn’t meant to be public knowledge yet” He finally said, sitting in front of the apprentice “Does your brother know? Does anyone else know? Did you or Webpaw talked with anybody about it?”

“No, just me. And no, we didn’t” Ravenpaw raised an eyebrow “She-cats getting pregnant and having kits isn’t something controversial, even if they are deputies or leaders. I don’t see why the secrecy”

“Because Yelloweyes wanted it to be kept private. It was an order and she is our deputy”

“I think you all are being a little bit overdramatic about all this. So Webpaw shared gossips with me, big deal!”

“Alright, listen! Stop contradicting me! I-I’m starting to worry about you, Ravenpaw” Shrewspring’s eyes conveyed as much, which straight up freaked out Ravenpaw. What was going on? All of this for just some gossip? It would probably be common knowledge before a moon anyways.

“Yeah, I’ve noticed. But I’m not sure I know exactly why. First it was rabbits, then Webpaw and now gossips. You are scaring me, Shrewspring. What’s going on?”

Instead of answering right away, his mentor softly put the tip of his tail on Ravenpaw’s shoulder and looked straight into his eyes.

“I know this is going to sound weird, but I need to know. Some of our clanmates have been worried about this… and to be honest, so have I. Even your mother asked me to find out. Initially, I thought they were just dumb rumors. But if you are so close as to share clan secrets with each other... I have to ask” He paused for a brief second, taking a deep breath “Ravenpaw, what are your intentions with our medicine cat apprentice?”

Ravenpaw paused for a second, taking a step back and blinking. His mentor’s tail hung in the air for a moment before being place on top of its owner’s paws.

“My _intentions?_ ” He repeated

“I swear, whatever you tell me stays between us if you want it that way. At least for now”

“I have no _intentions_ with Webpaw. We are just best friends. I don’t get what the clan is so worried about”

“They are worried that, despite you being a loyal and considered cat, you would let your emotions drive you to break the Warrior Code”

Worried about breaking the Warrior Code? And his mother was involved too?

“Being friends with a medicine cat isn’t against the Warrior Code”

“Being mates with one is”

Ravenpaw recoiled at that, his eyes widening and his back arching slightly.

Now it made sense what the clan’s suspicions were.

“Webpaw and I are not-! We are just apprentices, for Starclan’s sake! How can you say something like that!?”

“That’s not an excuse! Webpaw has one or two moons left of apprenticeship, at most. You’re halfway through your training. You’re young but not kits! The cats in our camp are worried that you’ll ruin your lives so early on”

Was Webpaw being questioned too? Could this affect his chances of becoming a full medicine cat?

“Then the cats in our camp are mouse-brained and blind! Webpaw and I are _just_ friends!”

The silence that followed stretched far beyond comfort. Shrewspring looked at him as if he were a criminal pledging his innocence before overwhelming amounts of evidence against him. The idea of asking his brother to speak in his favor flashed in his head for a second, but it dissolved immediately.

His mother suspected him of breaking the Code already.

Did his brother think that too? Was that the reason behind his behavior towards Webpaw?

He didn’t have time to reach a conclusion.

“Good” His mentor sighed, his expression changing once again. It was doing that a lot today, huh? “That’s good. I believe you. I’ll make sure the clan knows”

“Whatever…” Ravenpaw was sick of this conversation. He started walking away, towards the moor. He wanted to chase rabbits now, even if he couldn’t catch them. It would help him let off some steam.

“Where are you going?” His mentor meowed.

“To practice our clan’s ancestral tradition on the moor…” he replied bitterly.

“Ah, Excellent! I’ll bring the prey back to camp. See you there?”

The apprentice’s irritation was fueled further by this, maybe even irrationally so. Why the questions? He was a pretty paws-off mentor compared to others, but he was still his mentor. He could order him to do stuff and he would have to.

Also, why ask when he could just _assume_ things? The clan liked to do that a lot, it’d seem.

Shrewspring was a good cat, deep down Ravenpaw knew that, but he still didn’t answer.


	3. Webpaw

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ravenpaw and Webpaw being friends
> 
> (I edited this chapter like 70 times, I'm not sure what language my notes were anymore or if I even got them all)  
> (Don't write fanfics during Linguistics class, people)

** Chapter 3 **

** Webpaw **

“Well, would you look at that!” Webpaw meowed happily. He was resting on one of the medicine den’s moss beds. At the sight of his visitor, he stretched his muscles and stood up, walking towards Ravenpaw and blinking warmly as a sign of welcome “I was starting to get seriously worried about you! It’s been a couple of days since you last drop by. Are my charms not good enough anymore?”

“Shut up, Webpaw! I’m glad to see you too” His friend answered, nuzzling the side of his face and muttering “I’ve been a little busy with training lately. Our clanmates’ comments haven’t help me concentrate either”

“Ah, yes! What’s the newest piece of news concerning us? Have we had kits yet?” He smiled, turning and walking towards the herbs storage.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they were close to jumping to that conclusion when Shrewspring confronted me”

“Shame I couldn’t see your face when he did. I imagine it was quite a sight”

“Meh, I don’t know. Shrewspring was the one with the interesting faces that day. I assume you were aware of these rumors way before me, then?” Ravenpaw questioned as he sat down next to the golden tabby. The medicine cat apprentice had started looking over the herb stock, trying to figure out if they’d need more supplies.

“Hard not to be. So far, I’ve been questioned by Silentstar, Yelloweyes, Palestorm, my mother…” He paused briefly “Your brother and your mother too, now that I think about it, though she was subtle… and I’m pretty sure a couple more cats that I blocked from my mind. Also some dead medicine cats told me some stuff in dreams, but you know. Can’t speak with you about those, sorry”

Ravenpaw’s gaze fell on his paws. He felt bad for his friend. Rumors of this kind could at most taint his reputation, but for a medicine cat it could have meant exile if enough cats had believed them.

“I’m so, so sorry that I’ve caused you this”

“It’s whatever, honestly. I’m guiltier of giving out the wrong impression than you are anyways. Although, you’d expect they’d wait until I became a full medicine cat before questioning if I was being a good follower of the code. I can’t exactly break my vows before officially taking them!” He picked up some leafs with his paws, Ravenpaw couldn’t tell what it was, and gave it a sniff. At one, Webpaw scrunched up his face in disgust “Oh, these have gone bad. We’ll need to get rid of them and restock” He pulled the rest of those leaves to the side and continued with his task “By the way, how’s that warrior training you mentioned going?”

“It’s going alright, mostly focused on hunting. I still have issues catching rabbits, but I’m getting better. Shrewspring says that if I can bring at least one every two patrols, he’ll make me a warrior. I think he’s just tired of me, though. Looking forward to getting rid of me”

“You judge him too harshly” Webpaw commented, not looking away from his herbs “He cares about you and wants you to be proud to be a Windclan cat” He leaned down and grabbed some dry up flowers, tossing them to the side.

“Windclan could stand to be a little less proud of their rabbits. What’s wrong with eating more birds? They are significantly easier to catch in my opinion”

“Oh, nothing” Webpaw answered, casting his friend a side glance and smirking “In fact, seeing you walk in here with one just for me brightens up my day every time”

Ravenpaw found his cheeks growing hot with embarrassment. He twitched his whiskers and smiled back.

“Thank you…”

“So!” The medicine cat apprentice suddenly exclaimed. He wrapped up all the herbs he had taken out of the storage in a big leaf, leaving the bundle on corner to be thrown out later “Up for some herb collecting?”

“Sure! Will we be leaving the territory? Should I tell Shrewspring?”

“We’ll try not to. Let’s just do a tour around the border. Need some catmint. Also coltsfoot, just in case. We have some tansy, but getting more would be cool. Leafbare is coming, we have kittens on the nursery… that’s a recipe for cough outbreaks!”

Ravenpaw couldn’t help but notice how excited Webpaw seemed to be about the prospect of illnesses taking hold of the clan.

“I don’t see how that’s something to be happy about…” The medicine cat apprentice looked at him, a slightly guilty expression taking hold of his face adorned with a faltering nervous smile.

“It’s not, actually. I just see this coming Leafbare as a warrior apprentice would see his first battle” His eyes glinted in the soft darkness of the medice den ”It’s what I was trained for and my opportunity to prove myself to the clan. To show that I’m worthy of the destiny I chose!”

“Speaking of destiny…” Ravenpaw interrupted, grimacing “How’s Palestorm doing? I haven’t seen him outside the medicine then lately”

At once, all the color in Webpaw’s face seemed to drain into nothingness. His eyes widened before looking over his shoulders towards the back chambers. Just then did Ravenpaw realized how odd it was that the medicine cat apprentice was sleeping on a patient’s bed.

“Bad” he answered, facing Ravenpaw again. Fear-scent emanated from him and his ears folded tightly against his head. The warrior apprentice’s heart broke a little seeing his usually confident and cheerful friend so distressed “Really bad. It’d be a miracle if he survives till Leafbare. And he’s most likely not living through it if he does. I-I don’t know what to do…”

“What does he have? Can’t you treat him?” Ravenpaw pressed “Can’t we ask for help to the medicine cats from other clans?” Webpaw sat down, looking at his paws.

“That’s the thing! I don’t think he has anything. I’ve asked him and he wouldn’t tell me. I’ve consulted the other medicine cats during our meetings and they don’t know. I… I’m starting to think he isn’t ill. Just old… and weak. I can’t treat that” He shook his head and looked back at his friend “He talks about his mother and littermates visiting in his dreams and he seems more eager to be asleep than to help me treat cats” Webpaw looked in the verge of tears.

Ravenpaw walked up to his friend, pressing their chest fur together and softly laying his head on top of the other apprentice’s. Webpaw nuzzled his friend’s neck, taking a deep breath and letting out a soft purr. He found himself purring too without realizing it. They stood still for a couple of seconds, perhaps a few more than they should have, deep in the other’s warmth and with their eyes closed.

Meanwhile, Ravenpaw’s mind started to connect the dots.

_I see now how these rumors started. We do look like dumb apprentices awkwardly courting each other, huh?_

It seemed so weird for him to think of how they care for each other through that viewpoint. They’d do things like this all the time and not think very much of them. Touches and nuzzles and kind words were just part of their friendship.

And the fox-hearted speculations of their clanmates weren’t going to stop that.

“It’s alright” Ravenpaw broke the silence “It’ll be tough, but I have faith in you. He’ll look after you from Starclan and you’ll look after us here. Windclan will be fortunate to have you as its medicine cat”

“He told me the exact same thing…” Webpaw answered as he broke the embrace and started walking towards the exit “Come on, let’s get moving. I need some fresh air and the clan needs some herbs”

As the golden tabby passed the threshold into the clearing, Ravenpaw rose to his paws and followed his friend in silence.

When he stepped outside the den, he greeted by the usual sights in Windclan camp. Silentstar and Yelloweyes were both lying close to the Tallrock, enjoying the morning sun. They both tended to wake up very early to organize the daily schedule and then hung around camp in case they were needed.

Yelloweyes had finally had her kits, to the surprise of most the clan. A tom, who she called Shortkit, and a she-cat, who she called Fallowkit. Both of them were white greyish like their mother, but their eyes were more brown than yellow. The she-cat was slightly smaller, but other than that it was easy to confuse one for the other.

Ravenpaw still couldn’t believe how Windclan hadn’t realized their deputy was pregnant until she was basically laying in the nursery feeding kits.

_My clanmates can be really mouse-brained at times._

However, Windclan’s deputy returned to her clan duties barely two moons after her kits were born. Not even motherhood could pry her from her sense of duty and, to an extent, Ravenpaw admired that. She still loved her kits and visited them daily, but another queen was nursing them now.

Apparently their father was one of the loners that help the clan get some resources from Twolegplace. But when asked how her mate was called, Yelloweyes answered that she did not take a mate, she made an arrangement. Nobody dared ask any further questions about the topic.

Ravenpaw and his brother’s father was also from outside the clan. A kittypet, their mother had told them. Sweet and caring as any clan cat, but lazy as all the nursery tales said kittypets were. She invited him to join the clan, but he refused claiming that he couldn’t provide anything of value to the clan. Opinions in Windclan were divided between believing this to be an honorable and responsible admission, or seeing it as the excuses of a coward.

They’d parted ways in amicable terms, so Ravenpaw hoped he could see his father one day. It wasn’t likely, seen as neither wandered into the other’s territory, but still.

Maybe growing up with just their mother was something he could connect with the new kits.

Ravenpaw was looking forward to Shortkit and Fallowkit’s apprenticeship ceremony. With any luck, he would be a warrior by then and maybe even chosen to mentor one of them. Training a deputy’s kit would be a great honor!

A couple of warriors, a light ginger with white dots tom called Minkclaw and his similarly colored sister Smallflower, were chatting to with each other as they prepared to leave camp. Cloverpelt, a light brown tabby she-cat, joined them at the last second and all three bounded out of sight. Most likely a border patrol by their carefree demeanor. There hadn’t been a large conflict between the clans in over a generation. Checking and making borders were more of a tradition than an actual necessity now, but it was part of the Warrior Code and thus had to be done.

The fresh-kill pile looked kind of scarce, so Ravenpaw imagined that the first hunting patrol hadn’t returned yet. He was a little hungry, but decided he’d try to catch something on the way. He didn’t want to take anything from the clan when he wasn’t contributing as much as everyone thought he should.

A second group of cats emerged from the warriors den shortly after and marched up to Silentstar. One of them was Shrewspring, but Ravenpaw couldn’t distinguish the other two. As soon as she noticed them she jumped to her paws and joined the patrol. Then they all left in the opposite direction of the first one. Yelloweyes waved them goodbye with her tail but otherwise didn’t move from her spot.

“I guess our leader has to compensate for you by going on hunting patrols herself” Webpaw teased, bumping Ravenpaw’s shoulder with his own.

“Oh, I see…”Ravenpaw quickly answered, catching on to the joke “So what you are saying is you’d rather SHE brings you birds and hang out with you in the medice den?”

“Never! You’re my number one provider of feathered beings! I’d never cheat on you!”

“Lies! You unfaithful fox-heart! I thought we had something special!” Ravenpaw threw his head backwards for dramatic effect as he pretended to hold back tears.

Both apprentices left the camp laughing like maniacs, occasionally tackling and playfully swiping at each other like young kits. A couple of clanmates eyed them curiously as they left, some of them chuckling but most just rolled their eyes, their antics being old news at this point.

“What a pair of mouse-brained dorks…” Commented Lightpaw, who was sharing tongues with his mother.

Hollowstreak just face-pawed.


	4. Ravensight & Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is where the """fun""" begins

** Chapter 4: **

** Ravensight & Family **

“Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Tallrock for a Clan meeting!” Silentstar yowled into the wind.

Immediately, cats started to crowd around their gathering place. Warriors and apprentices cluttered near the front, elders left their dens but didn’t move much further, queens stood at the nursery’s entrance with their kits poking their head from there.

Some were already under the Tallrock, even before the call. Namely Shortkit and Fallowkit. They knew very well what this meeting was going to be about, as did most of the clan.

Ravensight was no exception. Ever since he became a warrior, he had done everything he could to be seen as good mentor material. He had woken up early every single day, he had gone in every patrol suggested to him and even attached himself in some extra ones, he had hunted until his jaw couldn’t carry all his fresh-kill, he had taken every night watch he was allowed to, he had gone to three Gatherings and made a good name for himself among other Clans’ cats. This last thing was unquestionably the hardest for Ravensight, who wasn’t a particularly talkative cat outside of his interactions with his brother or his best friend.

He raised from his nest near the medice den, arching his back to stretch quickly and checking his fur to make sure it was as presentable as possible. He licked his paw and drew it over one hear, then the other. He gave his chest a few licks too for good measure and finally joined his clanmates.

He glanced across the crowd until his eyes fell on the distinctive pair of a black she-cat and a grey tom with very particular markings. He silently walked up to his mother and brother, sitting in a space between them saved just for him. They noticed him as soon as he sat down and took turns rubbing their cheeks together in greetings, purring affectionately.

They sat close together on the outskirts of the gathered crowd. Away enough that they could hear the important bits, but also talk between each other without being disturbed.

Lightstep was the first to speak, a mischievous smile creeping on his face.

“Looking mighty fine today, dear Ravensight. What’s the joyous occasion?”

“You know perfectly well, brother”

“Of course, of course!” He tilted his head slightly upwards and pretended to be deep in thought “Although, for the life of me, I can’t imagine what made you hold off for so long to make things with Webfur official”

“You practically live with him already” Their mother chimed in, facing Ravensight and struggling to keep as serious of an expression as she could muster “Webfur comes from a very respectable bloodline. You’d better not have sullied that tom’s good name before you received Starclan’s approval”

Ravensight was slightly worried that if he rolled his eyes a little bit harder than how he was doing at the moment, they would pop out of his skull.

“Today, Yelloweyes’ kits are becoming apprentices” He responded simply.

“Or, better yet…” His brother lightly tapped him on the shoulder with his paw “One of them is becoming _your_ apprentice!”

“I most certainly hope so!”

“Listen, son” His mother spoke from the other side, placing the tip of her tail on his other shoulder. Her voice was kind and full of love, but also full of wariness “I know you’ve been working hard for this, but I’d lie if I told you every cat gets what they deserve. Be realistic about your chances and try not to get upset if you aren’t chosen. There will be more apprentices in the future”

“Thanks, mom…”

“Of course he’ll be chosen!” Lightstep challenged “He’s been bending over backwards for this clan the past moons!”

Hollowstreak fixed him with a stare.

“Yes, but there are cats who have seniority over him”

“Well, if those cats want to be around apprentices so much, they can join the elders and see them when they change their beddings”

That got a giggle out of Ravensight. His mother tried to stifle one of her one, but ultimately gave up and dropped her serious charade. Lightstep joined shortly after, the three cats leaning into each other and laughing as quietly as they could manage.

The moment was cut short by the Clan’s enthusiastic chanting.

_“Fallowpaw! Fallowpaw! Fallowpaw!”_

“Fallowpaw!” The family straighten up and hurried to add to the praise.

“Who’s the mentor?” Immediately asked Lightstep.

“Give me a second…” Hollowstreak answered. She stood up only on her back legs and craned her neck towards the front for a moment, before sitting down again “Looks like Smallflower”

“Are you sure it’s her? It might be her brother” Ravensight asked curiously. He had never been able to tell them apart, but his mother consistently could.

“Absolutely. Minkclaw is in front of us, to the right”

Ravensight turned his head to that direction and his eyes fell on a light orange and white cat looking to the front with pride and admiration in his eyes. He must have felt the eyes on his back because he turned around with a confused expression.

Ravensight was trailing his body up and down with his eyes, trying to identify something that made distinguishing him from his sister easier. Their gazes met and suddenly Ravensight realized how weird that might have look for the other tom.

“I was…” He tried to explain, but was cut off.

“Stop looking at me! I’m not interested!” And with a flick of his tail, Minkclaw turned his attention to the front again.

Ravensight felt his shoulders fall and part of the cheerfulness he had that day died there.

“I hope I didn’t make the situation too uncomfortable for him”

“The bunch of dirtheads…”” His brother commented with the edge of a snarl appearing on his lips “Just because you like toms doesn’t mean you going to go around jumping on _all_ toms. Who do these self-centered flea-bags think they are?”

“Shhh, no more insults to your clanmates…” Their mother interjected, sitting between the siblings and nuzzling Lightstep on the shoulder, before doing the same with Ravensight “And you, don’t let that get to you. They don’t do it out of malice, I promise. It’s just that…” She draped a paw around each of her sons and pulled them toward her in an embrace “It’s all my fault! I made my sons too handsome for this clan! Your clanmates don’t know how to react when you boys pay them _any_ attention!” She finished with the goofiest grin the siblings had ever seen on her, which caused them to start laughing again. They did their best to keep it down, pressing their paws to their muzzles. Their mother joined them shortly after, but their laughter was interrupted by Silentstar’s voice.

“I am glad there is such a good spirit among my clan” She called from the front, her voice a mixture of amusement and exasperation “But I _really_ need Ravensight up front right now”

Ravensight’s eyes shot open only to be met by essentially all the Clan looking back at him. The cats in front of him had parted ways, making a corridor directly to the Tallrock, where a young cat bellow it and Silentstar on top of it were waiting for him.

His brother slid behind him and nudged him forwards with his head while his mother whispered some encouraging words that Ravensight couldn’t grasp at the moment. He started walking, and then trotting, towards the front, not fully understanding what was going on yet.

Only when he reached the spot next to the young cat and sat down, noticing how they were positively beaming at him, did he started to realize.

“Alright, good…” Silentstar cleared her throat “Ravensight, you are ready to take on your first apprentice. You have received excellent training from Shrewspring and, although it has taken you a little while longer than most, you have shown yourself to be a brilliant hunter and a loyal, hardworking clanmate” Silentstar paused for a moment, and Ravensight took the opportunity to breath. He was on the verge of passing out of pure joy. This was real! It was really happening! “I entrust Shortpaw to you. You will be his mentor and I expect you to pass all you know and more to him”

Ravensight slowly turned to face the appr… HIS apprentice. The smile on the younger cat face hadn’t faltered and Ravensight suspected he himself was sporting a similar one at the moment.

“A pleasure to finally get formally introduced, sir” Shortpaw then added whispering “I’m so glad it’s you!”

“Likewise…” Ravensight whispered back, before bending to touch noses with his apprentice.

_“Shortpaw! Shortpaw! Shortpaw!”_

The crowd erupted in cheers once again. Among the shouts, Yelloweyes’ stood out as the loudest, just as it had been with her daughter. Ravensight’s mother and brother came as a close second, shouting the apprentice’s name as it were part of their family.

It was over in a moment and cats began to disperse to fulfill their assigns tasks. It was some hours past sunhigh, Ravensight wasn’t sure how many, but there were still thing to be done.

Shortpaw was still there, sitting close to Ravensight, waiting for his first instructions. It was customary that the first thing to do with a fresh apprentice is to take them on a tour around the territory, but there was no way he could show him even half of it before night. The mentor thought for a second about what to do before addressing him.

“Well, Shortpaw, I know you must be excited to start your training right away, but we have very few hours of sunlight left. So, let’s get out of the way all the boring stuff, shall we? I want you to take out your old nest from the nursery and make a new one in the Apprentices’ den” He was fairly sure Shortpaw would end up sleeping in the open like everyone else, but clearing and making nests would be a recurring task for the apprentice from now on, so it’d be better if he got some practice with his own “Afterwards, I’d like you to properly introduce yourself to the other apprentices” Socializing was important for a clan cat. Even if Ravensight didn’t care much for it himself, Shortpaw should “But be sure to go to sleep early. We will start you training tomorrow”

“Alright, Ravensight!” Shortpaw nodded. The black tom sort of expected him to object, knowing the usual eagerness of young cats to get out of camp, but was pleasantly surprised.

“Excellent! I’ll inform Yelloweyes so we can tag along the dawn patrol!”

“I can do that too, if you want” Lightpaw said, his smiled taking a cheekier undertone “Yelloweyes is my mother. I plan to speak to her today too”

“Ah, right! Yeah, she’s your mother… ok, do that” For a moment there, Ravensight had forgotten that fact “Please, do me another favor and ask Smallflower if she wants to come with us too”

“At once, sir!” Giving a small farewell nod, Shortpaw paddled up to his sister and her mentor. They exchanged a few words and shortly after both siblings made their way into the nursery.

Ravensight hoped that Smallflower didn’t take offense in his apprentice taking hers away, but those fears were dispersed when the she-cat approached him smiling

“See you tomorrow for the patrol, then” she said dipping her head and blinking, before quickly turning to the fresh-kill pile.

He just couldn’t stop smiling. He was finally a mentor! All his dedication to his clan had paid off and he now had an early start for making a name of himself in the clan.

_If I do a good job, maybe they’ll consider me for another apprentice! If I dedicate myself, I could become the deputy’s right paw cat or even deputy myself! Who’s to say that Ravenstar isn’t in store for us in the far horizon?_

He let his thoughts wander for a moment, imagining himself on top of the tall rock, his presence and voice commanding nothing but respect.

_I’m getting way ahead of myself. I should probably concentrate in what I’m going to do tomorrow. I know nothing about instructing ‘paws._

With a hint of worry creeping into his mind, Ravensight realized that he probably should’ve asked how exactly a mentor is supposed to train his apprentice.

_I guess they expect me to make him behave like I’ve been doing? Tons of patrols and helping around and that kind stuff?_

He shook his head and walked up to the fresh-kill pile too. On the way, he received nuzzles and congratulations from his family again, which he accepted proudly. They invited him to share some fresh-kill but he declined. He wanted to see another cat first. His mother sighed, his brother just rolled his eyes while smiling.

“Alright, come look for us near the Warriors’ den. I have some pointers about mentorship, if you want them” His mother told him. Ravensight perked up at this and nodded enthusiastically. Receiving wisdom from older cats was never a bad thing.

He picked up the best bird he could find, a nice and fat blackbird, and set course straight to the medicine den.

Traversing the entrance, he was greeted with the sight of a very embarrassed Kestrelstaker laying in one of the moss beds. One of her back legs was stretched in front of her and Webfur sat next to it, applying some kind of poultice.

“What did we learn today?” he tauntingly asked the she-cat as he started wrapping up her poultice-covered leg with large leaves and cobwebs.

“I’m not young enough to be jumping off trees anymore…” She answered in a defeated tone, her ears dropping in shame.

“Good. Remember that from now on and try to get your thrills in some other way” He continued “You are lucky it isn’t broken. What I put on it will ease your pain and reduce inflammation. You now only need to rest two or three days and take it easy afterwards, ok?”

“Ok... thank you” She stood up and, with a tip of her head, she walked out of the den, balancing in only three legs.

Webfur followed her with his gaze, only then noticing Ravensight was in the den too. He waited until the she-cat had let before addressing his warrior friend.

“Hello, mother! Is it feeding time already?” He flopped to the ground, widening on purpose his eyes and making the highest pitched kit voice he could

“Hilarious… I could take it back, if you don’t want it” He teased.

“No, no!” Webfur jumped to his paw and shook himself to get rid of the dust in his fur “Gimme that!” Ravensight did so and Webfur sat down next to him, slowly and methodically plucking the feathers out of the blackbird “So, how was the ceremony”

“Wonderful! I got an apprentice”

Webfur stopped his actions for a second to smile at his friend and give him a happy wag of his tail.

“Congratulation! Who did you get?”

“Shortpaw”

“Ah, yes. A good and healthy young tom. Very enthusiastic too, although inwardly. He doesn’t talk much from what I’ve observed” The medicine cat commented, before taking a bite out of his bird.

“I think we are going to get along just fine. If he is just a little like her mother, he’ll surpass me halfway through training!”

Webfur blinked at him, his face sporting an oddly serious expression.

“It’s not a good habit to judge a cat for his family’s accomplishments. Treat him as an individual, forget about him being Yelloweyes’ son. That’s what a good mentor would do”

“Of course! I know that! I’m just saying, he’ll be a great warrior for the clan in no time”

“I’m sure he will…” Warmth and friendliness returned to the medicine cat’s face “Want a bite of this? Your blackbird is really good!”

“No, thank you” Ravensight answered while standing up and giving his friend’s ear a quick lick “I’ll be sharing some fresh-kill with my family. They want to spend the rest of the day together”

“Alright, good on you” Webfur said. He dragged his right paw across his muzzle to clean up some of the blood, then gave it a few licks “You SHOULD probably hang around me less, to be honest, and mingle a little more with other cats. I’m your best friend and all, but you can’t spend all day here. Surely, the stench of herbs and blood are doing you no favors in finding a mate” He ended with a wink.

Ravensight snorted, his smile faltering completely. He really didn’t like this kind of conversations. Teasing about his relationship with Webfur was funny to him. Seriously speaking about relationships wasn’t.

“It’s not like I have a lot of options in that field anyways… and I’m in no particular hurry, either” And it was true. He had time. He could wait. It’d happen when it had to, right?

“Nonsense! You won’t be young forever! How about Mistwalker? As far as I know, he’s never had a mate before. Have you tried asking him?”

“Yeah…” It wasn’t really a painful memory or something like that. Closer to embarrassing than anything. But Ravensight preferred not to think about it. He and Mistwalker weren’t even friends at the time, and now were barely acquaintances, so he hadn’t lost anything in trying beyond some self-confidence.

It was kind of mouse-brained on his part to even try, knowing so little about the grey and brown warrior outside of his looks. He must have appeared desperate.

And really, he was glad Mistwalker said no. He wasn’t nearly as handsome as the Clan thought.

Also, his breath smelled like crow-food. He didn’t want that anywhere near him.

“Oh… and… have you met Arthur, the cute kittypet from Twolegplace? I could introduce you, if you’d like” He offered.

Ravensight gritted his teeth and did his best to hide his annoyance. All of a sudden, he didn’t want to talk to Webfur anymore.

“I have. He has a mate. And has kits with her, for that matter” He made an attempt to leave the den, but Webfur got up and circled him, standing right in front of him.

“Yeah, but he’s a kittypet! Those are the kinds of cat that can handle more than one mate at the time, since they don’t have to feed them. It’s not ideal, but as a first relationship, I think it’s a good stepping stone to…”

“Listen, I’m fine!” He shoved Webfur to the side with his shoulder. He didn’t put much force into it, but the medicine cat stumbled out of the way regardless “I wish you guys would stop pestering about it! I’m fine alone!” Ravensight stomped the ground with his front paws, unknowingly unsheathing his claws and scraping the soil. His eyes narrowed and the faintest of growls escaped his throat “If you are SO interested in this kind of thing, then why did you become a medicine cat!?”

Webfur visibly flinched and took a step back, his fur bristling slightly. He wasn’t really scared that Ravensight would hurt him. He knew the warrior would never do such a thing. But he had been caught off guard by the sudden outburst.

It was over as fast as it began, however. Ravensight noticed Webfur reaction and immediately hid his claws, his gaze softening, his head hanging with regret.

“Sorry…”

Webfur twitched his whiskers and shifted on his paws, his tail lashing out behind him, a deep frown across his face.

“That last comment was a little uncalled for, you know? I was just offering to help”

“I know…” Ravensight sat down again “I’m sorry”

“You can get away with a lot with me. Not so much with other cats. Think before you speak” It was hard to make out an emotion out of Webfur’s voice. It made the warrior’s heart sank with worry.

“I _do_ think a lot before speaking” He offered a small smile, trying to lighten up the situation. Not that he didn’t thought he deserved to be called out like that “I just consistently fail to put those thoughts into words”

For all that’s worth, Webfur smiled again. Not a brilliant grin, not a confident smirk, not a condescending sneer. Just a tiny smile of his own.

Everything was alright in the world again.

“I’ve noticed…” He sighed, but the smile was still there “Sorry about the kittypet comment, too. You just look so much like you mother, I tend to forget…”

“It doesn’t affect me”

“Listen, I’m your friend and medicine cat. I care about you, maybe more than my other clanmates… which I probably shouldn’t” He briefly gazed towards the entrance, as if expecting someone to be there “Looking after my cats’ mental and emotional health is as important to me as their physical health. But I can’t just chew up a bunch of plants, spit them in your face and done! You are happy again!” He paused “Well, I mean…” He tapped his muzzle with his paw a couple of times in mock consideration “Maybe a mixture of poppy seeds, thyme, catnip and goatweed would most certainly make you feel ´happy´ for a while, but when it wears off the aftereffects are going to be _nasty_ ”

The absurdity of the concoction made Ravensight laugh, just imagining the effects on a cat.

“How do you even _know_ that?”

“Secrets of the trade” He winked, sticking out the tip of his tongue “Become a medicine cat with me and they are yours!”

“No, thank you!”

“Your loss, then” He shrugged “But listen, being serious for a moment…” He shifted closer to his warrior friend and placed his tail on his shoulder “I’ll drop the subject, ok? I see now that it bothers you. But _do_ try to interact with the clan beyond me and your family. _Meaningful_ interactions, not just courteous pleasantries” He considered for a second, before adding “Hey! I have an idea. How about you start with your apprentice?”

“My apprentice? Shortpaw?” He cocked his head to the side in confusion. Webfur nodded.

“He’s been excited to become an apprentice for some time. There had been good talks about your services to the can. He has undoubtedly heard at least some, so he probably admires you to some extent” He dropped his voice to a whisper “His mother has put a lot of pressure in both of her kits. There is no need to stress him further. Be good to him. Try to be his friend, not just his teacher. He’s a good cat, you’ll see”

Ravensight slowly nodded in understanding.

“Alright, I see what you mean”

“ _And_ , when he gets made into a warrior, try and keep that relationship, alright? Having more friends will do you only good”

“Alright…” Ravensight nodded more enthusiastically now “I understand and I will… try”

“That’s all I can ask of you. Now get out of my den! Your family is waiting!”

Ravensight quickly pressed his muzzle against his friend shoulder, feeling the action reciprocated shortly after. Then he stood up and hurriedly walked outside, setting course to the Warrior’s den.

Hollowstreak was waiting for him right outside with a rabbit laying on her paws. Upon noticing him, she meowed something inside the den and shortly after Lightstep came out yawning, sitting next to her.

As he shared the fresh-kill with his family and was taking in his mother’s advice on mentoring, he was almost trembling with excitement. The prospect of having to spend so much time with another cat was at first little bit intimidating, but after seeing Shortpaw today he was certain he was going to be alright.

And after hearing Webfur’s advice, he was looking forward to being a mentor and spending time with Shortpaw more than ever, if such a thing was even possible.


	5. Smallflower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Smallflower is a character and Ravensight is a socio-political mastermind (but not really)
> 
> Also, I promised gay cats. Plural. I should probably start working on that, huh?

** Chapter 5 **

** Smallflower **

Ravensight was caught awfully off guard.

“Behold, young apprentices! Take it all in!” Smallflower commanded, sitting on her haunches and signaling with both front paws spread out in a dramatic fashion “All this territory in front of you, and this awful scent that you can smell right now, belongs to no other than the supreme prophesies’ connoisseurs and the nosiest clan in the Clans’ history, Thunderclan!”

He, Smallflower and their apprentices, Shortpaw and Fallowpaw, had been walking for a while towards the border. They passed the hills near the camp and crossed the northern part of the moor through the most covered path they could find, all the while pointing to good hunting spots, important strategic locations and different things in the distance that the apprentices could use as reference to find their way back to camp if their sense of smell failed them.

All basic things that his mother had told him were what mentors and apprentices normally did on their first day.

They were reaching the top of a particularly tall hill close to the border with Thunderclan when Smallflower went and did that…

Ravensight managed to contain his laughter, but only barely. He did soundlessly chuckle a couple of times, but he somehow kept a straight face.

The apprentices didn’t even bother and laughed wholeheartedly, but did as instructed. They opened their mouths to draw in the scents better. Their eyes panned across the whole border with Thunderclan, from the thorn thickets to the East, the Twoleg’s path in the middle, to where both territories ended at the lake to the West.

He noticed that adorable sparkle in their eyes that her mother had mentioned, that which appears when a young cat really sees how big the world is. Hearing elders’ stories about the territories doesn’t compare to actually standing in the open and seeing them with their own eyes.

“If you ever feel like your life needs unnecessary drama, world ending omens or unwanted pregnancies, you go pass this border!” Ravensight was ready this time and managed to dissimulate his amusement perfectly. He was mildly concerned by how unprofessional Smallflower was being, but he had promised to take it a bit easier with Shortpaw, so maybe her jokes wouldn’t be of any harm “Oh, and the Moonpool is _technically_ in their territory too or whatever. But it’s considered neutral grounds, so if any of you little kittens end up needing to go there for whatever reason, they’ll have to let you”

“You don’t seem to think very highly of them” Fallowpaw commented, trying to catch her breath.

“Just because we are at peace doesn’t mean I have to like them. The bunch of squirrel-munchers…”

“Peace is a fickle thing” Ravensight decided to chime in with some wisdom, trying to steer the conversation into more serious waters “Treaties and alliances come and go. It’d take only a particularly bad Leafbare, or some freak accident, and the leaders of both Windclan and Thunderclan would have to carry out actions to preserve the wellbeing of their clans that they normally wouldn’t”

“Indeed” Smallflower continued “That is why all the clans still train warriors. We _are_ at peace, but the longer it last, the more likely it is to end”

“Let’s pray to Starclan that it doesn’t” Said Shortpaw.

“Let’s pray to Starclan that it _does!_ ” Countered Fallowpaw, jumping excitedly.

Although Ravensight realized it was a bit cruel on his part, he sent a silent ‘thank you’ to his Ancestors for having given Shortpaw as his apprentice. He was certain Fallowpaw would be a much harder apprentice to befriend if the few interactions he’d had with her were a good representation of her behavior.

“Alright, we are done here” Concluded Smallflower and Ravensight nodded. The apprentices now knew where the border was, now they had to see the full extension. No point staying there.

“We’ll continue down the border till we reach the lake” He explained “Then we’ll follow the coast until we reach Riverclan’s border”

Everyone nodded in agreement and they started making their way towards the lake.

\-----------------------------

By the time their small training patrol came back to camp, it was some hours past sunhigh.

Both warriors were unbothered by all the walking, being used to traveling long distances in the moor, but the apprentices were notably exhausted. The older cats had planned to do a little bit of hunting before going to camp, but Shortpaw and Fallowpaw could barely stand, let alone chase anything.

They decided to split up momentarily. Ravensight went back into the moor to try to catch a rabbit for the clan, while Smallflower stayed with the apprentices so they could eat something and rest.

He was successful in his endeavor. Too successful, in fact.

He walked into the camp dragging three fully adult rabbits by the ears. A couple of cats who where leaving camp congratulated him on his way in, even patting his back with their tail and brushing his shoulders. He couldn’t tell who it was.

He also couldn’t quite shake the feeling that they saw it as a big deal because it was him, the apprentice who for his first couple of moons of training could bring back nothing but birds from his hunting patrols. It was a feeling that followed him every time he came back from a hunting patrol.

A couple of kits were playing out of the nursery and caught sight of him, gasping in admiration. In reality, he knew that it _was_ a pretty impressive thing for one cat alone to bring three rabbits in just one hunting trip. The circumstances of the catches, however, made them less impressive to him.

One of the rabbits he chased and took down, as Starclan intended Windclan cats to do. The other was distracted staring at something, so he just snuck up on it and pounced before it could react. And the third he didn’t even noticed. He was coming back to camp, stepped on a twig, the rabbit bolted from somewhere he didn’t even see and the stupid thing hit a rock and broke its leg. Catching it took less effort than what it would take to whoever wanted it to walk up to the fresh-kill pile and pick it up.

He caught sight of Smallflower sitting under the shadow of the Tallrock, beckoning him with her tail. He dropped two of the rabbits on the fresh-kill pile, grabbed the third by the neck and went up towards her. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Silentstar casting an approving smile towards him. Yelloweyes was sitting close to her, but Ravensight couldn’t see her very well. He guessed she was watching him too.

He _hated_ all this.

All this attention was _awful._

AND undeserved.

He just got lucky.

For a split second he thought that it would have been better to just leave one of the rabbits in the moor. Maybe the one that had broken its leg?

But immediately he went back on these thoughts. Him being uncomfortable didn’t matter. The clan had rabbit to share and that was what a Windclan warrior was supposed to provide. He was just doing his duty. His leader was proud and, when his apprentice found out he would be too.

“Well, well, well! Showing off today, aren’t we?” The teasing voice of Smallflower brought him out of his thoughts “Sit with me and share some of your delicious glory!”

Ravensight nodded. That was sort of the idea from the start, anyways. They would be working together a lot more in the followings moons, so it’d be impolite to not share a meal with her from time to time.

He gently placed the prey in front of the she-cat and sat down next to her.

“So, Ravensight, right?” She said before taking a bite out of the rabbit and chewing slowly, taking in all the flavors. He did the same and had to contain himself from moaning. This had been the rabbit he had run down and by Starclan was it _good_! He worried for a second that the others wouldn’t be as good since he hadn’t caught them traditionally, but he dismissed the thought. Superstition should hold no weight in a Windclan cat’s mind “I’ve seen you once or twice, but I don’t think we’ve talk before”

“We’ve been in patrols together, though” He politely retorted.

“Well, yeah… but I meant outside of work related stuff”

“Oh. No, I don’t think we have” And Ravensight couldn’t really think why. Maybe he truly spent too much time in the medicine den. Or perhaps he always kind of saw her as just a female version of Minkclaw, since they were littermates and looked rather similar. If he knew Minkclaw, he knew Smallflower.

He realized at that point that he had been unfair to her. He was a solid black cat, did that mean he was the same as any other black cat? They weren’t exactly a one in a million occurrence.

“However, I have heard about you a lot” She said as she licked some blood of her muzzle, before taking another bite.

“I hope… nothing bad?” He answered uncertainly.

If there was something that seemed universal throughout Windclan history, it was the overabundance of gossips. And, as much as Ravensight hated to admit it, he sort of understood why. There had been so many outlandish claims and statements that ended up being true, the clan was almost willing to believe anything provided that it was told in a logical manner.

Still, beyond the whole Webfur affair, which at this point was nothing but a clan in-joke, what could she possibly be referring to?

“I’d say between alright-ish to good” She turned to look at him through half narrowed eyes, a small curious smile on her face “I’ve heard you have the deputy position on your raven’s sights, eh?”

Ah, that.

That rumor was indeed logical. He’d been very participative in the clan affairs lately, perhaps too much for a warrior so young. They were bound to notice.

And he HAD thought about being deputy, but only in fantasies. He wasn’t actually thinking in pursuing that.

“I mean, sure? I guess it’d be nice” If he had learned anything in his life, it was the fact that straight up denying rumors was the surest way possible to have them spread even further “I’d be honored if it happens but I’m not particularly interested”

“Hey, I’m not accusing you or something” She quickly said, slightly confusing him. He’d never said that she was, as far as he knew “It’s good to be ambitious, so long as you are not a pile of dirt about it. I’m just trying to get to know the cat I might need to call ‘sir’ one day”

“But I’m ambitious! Or rather, I had an ambition” He admitted “I wanted an apprentice as soon as possible. I haven’t been a warrior for very long, so I felt I had to work harder for it”

“Seriously?” She tilted her head curiously “Just for that?”

“Yes, I swear I was just doing it for that. Especially after my less than stellar apprenticeship, I had to overperform in all my tasks… and lick a couple of paws, too…”

“ _My stars!_ ” She purred in amusement, almost chocking with the piece of food in her mouth. She tapped the rabbit with her paw a couple of times before adding “I’d believe it” She swallowed her half-chewed mouthful and coughed softly “However… you must admit, it’s kind of suspicious”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, we only have two new apprentices this time around and, while there are kits and an expecting queen in the nursery, there won’t be any new apprentices for a long time, so…”

The black tom frowned.

“I’m not following…”

“Most of the current warriors who have trained apprentices will be… let’s use some kind words here… not very young by the time Silentstar will have to choose a replacement for Yelloweyes” A cold shiver run down Ravensight’s back at the implications behind that “Obviously, Silentstar will want someone on the younger side” She paused again, taking a quick glance at the sitting figure of the Windclan leader next to her deputy, just a couple of fox-lengths away from them “Nobody is realistically expecting a Yellowstar, if you know what I mean. But that second deputy might have an actual chance of becoming leader” Realization started to dawn inside Ravensight “And you now have a head start over all cats of our generation. How many apprentices will you mentor? How many young cats will vouch for you when the time comes?”

“That’s preposterous!” He spat, now fully understanding how the clan had perceived his actions.

“Is it, though?” Smallflower casually challenged back.

“Yes, it is! And what about you!? You’re in the same position as I am, too!”

The she-cat just shrugged and rolled her eyes.

“Silentstar would never chose me as her potential successor. Not in a million moons” She shook her head “”First thing I’d do as a leader would be to invade Thunderclan, just because”

Ravensight stared at her in disbelief.

“You wouldn’t”

“Yes, I would. I’d make up a reason first, like some random Thunderclan tom fathering my kits then stealing them. That’s a classic! But, yes, I most certainly would”

“I don’t believe you… I think you come across as quite abrasive” He tried to reason “But I don’t see you as a violent cat”

“Oh, well…” She smiled at him sweetly and purred “If that is the case, then I’m amazed you haven’t tried flirting with me, yet. Because, in your mind, you are staring at Minkclaw right now, not Smallflower”

Ravensight didn’t know how to respond.

“You…”

Luckily for him, Smallflower didn’t seem interested in a response.

“Anyways…” She clicked her tongue and flicked an ear in his direction “Let’s change the subject. So, you got what you wanted. What do you think?”

“About the apprentices?” He answered automatically, his mind seemingly yanked from the previous conversation.

“Yours, specifically. But general opinions are cool too”

Ravensight wasn’t sure if he wanted to change the subject. His clanmate had just admitted some very damning things which brought forth very disturbing thoughts. Were those anti-peace ideas something common among Windclan cats? Would any other cat be willing to pull Windclan into a war just for personal reasons too? Would the clan actually be in safer paws if he himself became leader? Was it moral for him not to try to become deputy now that he knew what could potentially be at stake?

He decided to push all that to the back of his mind. He’d have time to reflect on that later, alone and with calm. For now, he welcomed the chance to speak about something more cheerful for him.

“I think they are great!” he wiped his muzzle with his paws, then started licking them, partially to have something to focus on. He was full already and there was still a lot of rabbit left. He decided to leave it for Smallflower. Maybe she could share with his brother? Surely the siblings would want to talk about today too “Shortpaw seems to have a similar way of thinking than mine, seems to be courteous and eager to learn and… of course, it’s too early to tell, but I think the whole experience is going to be wonderful!”

Smallflower nodded in understanding.

“Glad to hear. If you ever need help, don’t hesitate to give me a shout. I might lend you a paw when we get to mock battles and stuff”

“Oh?” He frowned and looked directly at her, confusion seeping from his eyes “I thought we were going to train together?”

“Yelloweyes’ orders” She shrugged “She wants us to be tough with her children. That includes separating them. Integrating them into the clan as individuals”

Ravensight glanced from side to side, making a point to check specifically towards the side of the Tallrock.

“Well, she doesn’t _have_ to know, necessarily. Besides, I’ve heard they already have a lot of expectations pushed onto them. Shouldn’t we tried to alleviate that?”

“Conspiring behind our deputy’s back already? I’m starting to like you” Smallflower lips curved upwards slightly “Still, you do you, friend. That kind of initiative might bring good things for you someday. But I’ll stick to obeying orders” She finished with wink.

“Ok…” Ravensight sighed in defeat. He’d be training Shortpaw mostly alone, then “I’ll be taking my leave, now. I’d like to lay down a bit before taking Shortpaw out to start hunting training”

“Alright, cool…” Both warriors stood up and pressed their cheeks against each other “Can I have the rest of the rabbit? I want to let Minkclaw have some. He’s kind of sore he didn’t get an apprentice”

“Absolutely. Send him my regards” And with that, he turned around and started padding towards the Warriors’ den. He was quite tired, but above all he wanted to be alone. He wasn’t looking forwards to being on his own with his thoughts and the knowledge he had acquired today, but he knew he needed to think about it carefully.

Beyond the political intrigue and the unnerving truths hidden behind her face, he’d actually enjoyed talking to Smallflower. More than he cared to admit. He was looking forward to trying his paw at conversing with another clanmate. Maybe this ‘making friends’ thing was the way to go for him.

But that would have to wait. It had been enough socializing for the day, he concluded.

On his way, though, he noticed Shortpaw sitting by himself outside of the Apprentices’ den, a troubled expression upon his face.

Ravensight hesitated at first. Was he really in the mood for more potentially somber news? Ultimately, he decided to approach the apprentice. He remembered what Webfur had told him and he was determined to be this cat’s friend, no matter how much he had on his head right now.

Webfur wouldn’t just walk by if Ravensight was upset, so he figured he shouldn’t do that with Shortpaw.

“Is something bothering you, young ‘paw?” He gently said as he was reaching his apprentice.

Shortpaw immediately jumped to his paws, his fur bristling and eyes widening, turning to face the voice. He relaxed quickly once he realized who had talked to him.

“Oh… hello, huh, sir!” He answered, sitting down on his haunches. He kept his back straight and his gaze firmly placed on Ravensight’s eyes. He puffed his chest hair and pointed his ears slightly backwards. All in an attempt to look confident. The warrior didn’t buy the display at all “Nothing’s bothering me, sir!” He continued.

_Ok, so… he seems tense. Let’s ease up the environment. Webfur would make a dumb joke here, right?_

It was rather sad, he thought, how Webfur was basically all his frame of reference for interacting with other cats outside his family. Well, Webfur and Smallflower, but he wasn’t quite sure what to think of her yet.

“Shortpaw, there is no need to call me ‘sir’” He said as he sat down in front of the apprentice “I have a name. A pretty cool one, at that. My mom and our leader went through all the trouble to come up with it, it’d be a shame if nobody used it”

Shortpaw smiled at that and his ears flopped slightly to the side, relaxing.

“Alright, sir. I mean, Ravensight!”

“Much better! So, about what’s bothering you…”

“Nothing is bothering me. I’m fine” The apprentice responded, shifting on his paws and looking to the side.

“I can tell that’s not the case, Shortpaw”

“It’s just a silly little thing. You shouldn’t concern yourself with it…”

“I am your mentor” The warrior gave a small stomp with one of his front paws, interrupting the apprentice and making his gaze snap back to Ravensight “We’ll be spending a lot of time together, from now on. Whatever bothers you, concerns me” He gently placed his tail on his shoulder, and the apprentice sort of just stared at it for a second, seemingly not knowing how to respond, before looking back again.

“It’s just…” He finally spoke, with some flashes of guilt on his eyes “Mother told us we would be running all over the moor today, like any Windclan cat worth their whiskers does. But I was already struggling to keep up with you halfway through the tour and by the end I could barely stand on my paws” He blinked and pressed his cheek a little bit against the tail still resting on his shoulder “I know you and Smallflower wanted us to try hunting immediately after seeing the borders. She told us on the way back to camp. I feel like I’ve disappointed everyone just on my first day…”

“Riverclan cats aren’t born knowing how to fish and swim perfectly. Shadowclan clan don’t learn their stealth and scouting tactics during kithood. Why would it be different for us?” He tipped his head slightly upwards and folded his ears. He wanted to sound stern, but also still friendly. He wanted to reassure Shortpaw, not scold him like the apprentice was expecting. He offered him a small smile “You’ll build resistance and run as fast and for as long as any other cat here, eventually. That’s what training is for”

“Y-you think so?” He smiled back, jumping to his paws and almost vibrating with anticipation. Ravensight’s tail fell unceremoniously to the ground on the side, but he paid it no mind. He just wrapped it around his paws again.

“I know so” He mockingly look to both sides before bending slightly. He didn’t need to, really. Shortpaw, despite his name, was maybe a head shorter than himself at most “I, myself, had a lot of troubles when I was younger. I couldn’t even catch up with rabbits, let alone killing them. I was very bummed about that, to the point where I didn’t want to try anymore. But my mentor didn’t gave up on me and I trained, and practiced and…”

“And today you brought _three_ by yourself! Each the size of a cat! Even after all our walking!” Shortpaw whispered back, his eyes now sparkling with awe and admiration.

Ravensight, meanwhile, cringed internally.

“Y-yeah, exactly!” He managed to continue “You are only just starting. Literally, this is your first day. Don’t compare yourself with warriors. In fact, don’t compare yourself with anything. And ignore other cats who do. You’ll be fine, I promise”

Shortpaw response was the second thing that caught him off guard that day. He just shifted closer to his mentor and pressed his head against his chest, purring softly and mumbling something that sounded like a ‘thank you’.

Ravensight didn’t feel the need to stop him. He’d promised Webfur to be Shortpaw’s friend, not just his mentor, and this was something among the lines of the stuff he and Webfur would do. He hesitated at first, but quickly gave a lick between the apprentice’s ears and the rested his head on top of his. Shortpaw stiffened at the contact but relaxed immediately and pressed even more against Ravensight’s chest, purring loudly now.

“Hey…” The black tom broke the silence “If you are up for it, I was thinking we could do some hunting training now”

Very reluctantly, Shortpaw broke the embrace and got on his paws, shaking his fur to get rid of some dust that had caught on there.

“Alright, I’m ready!” He proclaimed with confidence.

“Follow me, then” Ravensight rose to his paws too and started walking towards the camp’s exit, Shortpaw following close behind.

All the while, a warm feeling was spreading inside Ravensight’s chest that seemed to even out the mental and physical exhaustion he was feeling at the moment.

The selfish part of him sort of regretted talking with Shortpaw, wishing he had at least rested first.

The rest of him firmly opposed that notion.


	6. Shortpaw

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ravensight spends some time with his apprentice and discovers he is not a fan of the medicine den without Webfur there.

** Chapter 6 **

** Shortpaw: **

The white furred apprentice stalked silently towards a small rabbit standing in the open fields.

Slowly and methodically, with each step thought out in advance, Shortpaw inched ever so slightly forward with each movement of his paws. His sight was set on his target but would flick to the ground occasionally to make sure he wouldn’t step on anything. The wind was blowing towards him, so his scent was well hidden while the rabbit’s assaulted his nostrils.

He got as close as he could get away with and, without a second wasted, sprinted into full speed towards the rabbit. The prey heard its predator and bolted in the opposite direction as soon as its muscles responded.

But it was too late at that point.

Ravensight was watching everything unfurl form a distance and though he couldn’t see the outcome, both the apprentice and the rabbit disappeared in a slope of the terrain, he trusted Shortpaw and knew he had executed everything perfectly. There was no way the rabbit could have escaped him.

And so he waited for the outcome. He walked into the open moor and opened his mouth, drinking in all scents in the wind.

First there were plants, rabbit and cat.

Then the scent of heathers was tainted by blood. And a smile appeared on his face.

Shortpaw appeared on the horizon, practically hopping with every step, carrying his recently caught piece of fresh-kill. Ravensight gazed upon his apprentice proudly and purred at him when he got close.

“Impeccable” He praised Shortpaw as he dropped the rabbit in front of him. The warrior picked it up and started walking towards some trees, back to the edge of the moor.

A rabbit and a bird, those were the minimum objectives every time they went hunting. The two most important prey for Windclan, even if unequally so.

“Thank you, Ravensight!” Shortpaw meowed back as he followed.

It was amazing how two moons of training had changed the young cat. He walked with confidence now having run through each paw-step of territory, having tasted many rabbits’ blood, having spent many night with only Silverpelt above him.

He was a cat of Windclan, through and through.

They reached the eastern tree line and quickly dug up the hole where another rabbit was stored. They added the new one and buried them again. Once done, Shortpaw fell into a hunting crouch and started making his way through the underbrush, with his mentor closely behind.

The usual scents of the forest hit him as soon as he opened his mouth. The musk of the soil, the dryness of the fallen leaves, the insects crawling around, the odd mix of sweet and bitter that the plants produced.

They walked silently, with even more care than before. The ground here was littered with things that could give their position away. And the forest hid creatures that could easily turn the cats from hunter to hunted.

The warrior followed his apprentice quietly, going through bushes and climbing up and down roots. The small patches of trees on the clan’s territory could hardly be considered a proper forest, but for the Windclan cats, being in such an environment was almost claustrophobic.

Arguably, the moor was a better place to catch some birds, like crows, doves and even a runaway Twoleg’s chicken if they were extremely lucky. But Ravensight liked the change of scenery, even if it unnerved him a little. It made the hunt more interesting, and Shortpaw seemed to agree.

Besides, if he ran into a fox, he knew what to do. They were dumb. They were predictable.

But a Twoleg? Starclan know how those things would react. They had no pattern, no rhyme or reason to do what they did. Or if they did, it was so far beyond his comprehension that he couldn’t even begin to process it.

Some kittypets claimed to be able to understand to an extent their Twolegs, which was fascinating to hear, but Ravensight couldn’t even fathom the stuff these cat told him. They themselves seemed to half-believe their words, even when they had been witness to the events being narrated.

It was better to just believe Twolegs were dumb too. Otherwise, he might have to learn things he shouldn’t.

Back to the present, Shortpaw raised his tail suddenly, only to immediately lay it flat on the ground. Ravensight understood the signal and stood still. He watched his apprentice take a few deliberate steps forward, trying to stay as close as the ground as possible. The smell of feathers reached him for the first time, but Ravensight already suspected that’s what they were stalking.

All of a sudden, Shortpaw made his move and pounced on the bird, but he botched the start and fell short. The prey immediately took off but Shortpaw was quick on his feet and jumped after it. By some miracle, he just managed to hook one of its legs with a claw. The prey flapped its wings hard, actually gaining a bit of height even with the apprentice dangling from it, but it was ultimately futile and the white furred tom managed to bring it down again. They both hit the ground hard, but Shortpaw wasted no time in going for the neck. And just like that, there would be dove in the fresh-kill pile that day.

Ravensight stood up and in a moment he was next to his apprentice.

“Are you alright?” He asked, nudging him on the shoulder with his nose.

“Yeah, I think…” Shortpaw tried to get on his paw, but as soon as he did, an excruciating pain shot up from his right front leg. He collapsed face first into the ground again “On second inspection, I might have sprained a leg”

“It was a harsh landing…” Ravensight commented, the clear traces of concern in his eyes didn’t go unnoticed by his apprentice. “We are done for today. You are going straight to Webfur”

“It really doesn’t hurt that much…” Shortpaw answered, but the black tom didn’t believe him. It didn’t help that when he tried to stand up again, he collapsed to the side almost immediately “Why am I so stupid?” He muttered against the ground.

“You are going and that’s an order”

“Whatever you say, dear mentor” His apprentice said while rolling his eyes, though a small smug smile appeared on his face “Authority abuse, much?”

“You bet! Windclan has no use for a legless apprentice”

Without saying anything else, Ravensight bowed down and gently nudged Shortpaw back to his paws with his head. Slowly, the apprentice stood up in his three undamaged legs. Then, Ravensight laid his apprentice’s injured leg around the back of his neck.

“There really is no need for this… I could walk fine with three legs” The white tom reasoned.

“Nonsense! I won’t risk you hurting yourself on the way” With his chest firmly pressed against Ravensight’s side for support and his injured leg floating in the air, the apprentice could barely see the comforting smile his mentor was trying to give him “Our honorable deputy would have me shredded if I let anything serious happen to you”

“…Thank you”

Ravensight could swear he felt Shortpaw’s fur grow warmer ever so slightly, but he dismissed the thought. It wasn’t important now.

He could hear him purring, though. Very faintly, but definitely perceptible from so close.

Shortpaw gestured towards the bird and Ravensight nodded. It’d be nice gift for Webfur, now that they were going to see him anyways. He could return for the rabbits later.

He picked up the fresh-kill and, after glancing to see that Shortpaw was fine, they started making their way back to camp.

Shortpaw was oddly quiet all the way back, but he never stopped smiling.

\---------------------------------------------

As Webfur maneuvered Shortpaw’s leg with care, Ravensight was already almost trembling with anticipation. It turned out that his shoulder was dislocated, not sprained. The black tom had limited knowledge in the nature of injures and thus wasn’t sure if it was better or worse in the long run.

When all of a sudden Webfur pulled on the leg, only to jam it back again and be rewarded with a sickening sound and sight of bones popping back into place and a sharp anguish-filled yowl, he had to actively stop himself from gagging.

It was an odd thing, he considered, that he found giving and receiving wounds much less upsetting than watching them being treated. Seeing a reddened, swollen, pus-leaking wound on a cat struggling to keep conscious due to fever and medication was way much worse than just slashing with claws across a cat’s head or shoulder and seeing a couple droplets of blood fly into the wind. The wound seemed so small, like it would be insignificant.

Luckily a shoulder out of its socket was nowhere near that serious, but seeing Shortpaw writhing in pain, staring at his mentor’s eyes for support, with fear-scent emanating from him, seeming so vulnerable… even if it only lasted a few seconds, it made him think.

He really hoped that loner he had attacked near Twolegplace the other day was alright…

“Well, huh… that was cleaner that I thought!” Triumphantly declared the medicine cat as he stood up and walked towards his herb stashes.

“Is he going to be alright?” Ravensight asked, still with traces of worry in his voice.

“Apprentices get this types of injuries all the time. They aren’t dangerous, just a little bit painful” Webfur answered. He then picked up a leaf with some seeds lying on it and placed it in front of Shortpaw’s face.

“And embarrassing…” The apprentice muttered, before focusing on the medication “Poppy seeds?”

“Poppy seeds, indeed!” He sat down, giving a small flick of his golden tail and licking his chest twice “To ease up the pain and help you sleep” Shortpaw opened his mouth to ask something, but Webfur was faster “You are sleeping here tonight, just in case” Then he pointed at Ravensight with his tail “And so are you”

“Me?” The warrior blinked in surprise “Why?”

“To look after him”

“Shouldn’t you do that?”

“It’s quarter moon tonight. I’m travelling to the Moonpool” He explained “And I have secret medicine cat affairs afterwards, so I’ll probably be on the other side of the borders all night”

“Can you just… do that?” Shortpaw asked.

Webfur just shrugged.

“’I’ve yet to be stopped” Then he focused on the black warrior “You should go fetch your rabbits. I’ll leave when you return. Also, I’ll leave a bundle of leaves next to Shortpaw’s bed. I want you to check his shoulder from time to time. Press your nose against it and if you feel like it’s unusually warm or swollen, chew up those leaves and smear them on it. Do _not_ give him more poppy seed unless the pain prevents him from sleeping. Ok?”

“Understood” He nodded at the medicine cat’s instruction before offering a reassuring smile to his apprentice “I’ll be right back”

With that, he turned around and darted out of camp and across the moor.

\---------------------------------------------

It had never actually occurred to Ravensight how long a night actually was, seeing as he was used to sleeping through them and whatnot.

It had also never occurred to him how foreign the night felt without the stars above him. As any self-respecting Windclan warrior, he was used to sleeping in the open. There _was_ a Warriors’ den in Windclan camp, of course, but that was more like a place to take middays naps or lay down to have some privacy and share tongues than to actually rest for the night, like in the other clans. Vulnerable cats like kits and elders did sleep in dens, and so did apprentices sometimes, although most would spend the night alongside warriors too.

He had never spent a single night in a den ever since he left the nursery. Even when it rained, there were parts of the camp that sheltered from the water while allowing him to feel the stars on his pelt.

For the first time in his entire life, he found himself truly _despising_ the medicine den. This place held so many happy memories and warm feelings between himself and Webfur. So many jokes and games, so many conversations and gazes, so much support and caring.

But now? It was downright oppressive. The darkness felt insidious, the sight of herbs revolting, the stale scent of injury foreboding, the nest where he laid a prison. And he couldn’t really understand why.

Well, he could, but it was kind of silly.

Webfur wasn’t there and there were no stars.

He felt like a kit.

He grunted as he shifted position slightly, and his gaze fell on Shortpaw. The apprentice was awake, laying in a nest close to him and resting his head on his paws. He hadn’t been able to sleep much, but he had assured him it wasn’t due to pain. Just… not being tired. Or maybe, Ravensight suspected, being frustrated with himself.

In any way, Ravensight guiltily felt annoyed by this. He wanted to sleep so badly, but felt it was his obligation to stay awake as long as Shortpaw was. And he also felt so wrong being in this enclosed space!

He had a painfully overpowering desire to leave but he had an equally powerful desire to stay by Shortpaw’s side. He joked about Yelloweyes shredding him before, but he genuinely felt guilty that Shortpaw had been injured during his supervision. He understood that it wasn’t his fault and that he probably couldn’t have done anything to prevent it, but that didn’t really help. He also knew that the injury wasn’t serious, but that didn’t help either.

Their accommodations didn’t help at all. He felt so vulnerable in that den, his eyes round and wandering from corner to corner. He saw the walls moving and the ground writhing in pain. He saw eyes forming and unforming in the darkness, he saw ears full of teeth and paws coming out of mouths. He heard voices whispering and felt the wind coming from the back of the den, which was impossible.

He felt an unquenchable desire to bolt straight out of that Starclan forsaken place and find refuge in the calming sea of darkness of the open moor. He was faintly aware of his claws furiously sinking on the soil and of his progressively accelerating heart. He felt his ear touching the ceiling and his sides the walls, which he _knew_ wasn’t possible, but couldn’t deny it.

Then Shortpaw’s tail gently brushed against his, just for a second, and that nightmare was gone. He was back in the medicine den, the walls were solid rock and at a good distance from them. The ground was still and made of compacted earth. Nothing could be heard but their breathing; and nothing was moving but their chests slowly rising and falling.

He blinked. Twice.

He slapped himself with a paw and blinked for a third time.

Then he sighed.

He was losing his mind over nothing. He was sleep deprived and apparently scared of walls.

He was in desperate need of a distraction.

Ravensight leaned over to Shortpaw, carefully pressing his muzzle and nose against his shoulder. The apprentice stiffened at the sudden touch but relaxed immediately. Noting nothing new, the warrior licked the disturbed fur back into place and settle down in his nest again.

Though the white pelt helped, he could barely see his apprentice. Still, the glint of his eyes were very clear in the darkness as the young tom cast a sideway glance towards him.

“Thank you for looking after me” He looked forwards again and his eyes disappeared “I’m sorry for being careless and causing this. I know there are probably a dozen cats who you’d rather be with right now”

_“Not remotely true”_

“Perhaps…” His tone deliberate, his words carefully chosen. He still felt cornered and was worried he would snap at Shortpaw for a silly reason “But there is no other cat who I feel I _should_ be with right now” Ravensight blinked sympathetically, hoping his apprentice would catch the gesture in the darkness “It just feels right to be here, you know?”

He wasn’t quite sure if those words made sense or it they actually conveyed what he wanted to say. The apprentice shouldn’t feel guilty, it was an accident. And he shouldn’t feel sorry for Ravensight, he was responsible for it. He should be here, it was his duty.

When Shortpaw looked down to his paws for a moment, only to turn his head and look at him with what seemed like a smile and a heartfelt purr, Ravensight concluded that it didn’t truly matter. He must have said something good, at least.

“I didn’t tell you before, but mom came by when you went out for our fresh-kill” Shortpaw said, trying to start a conversation. Ravensight was extremely thankful for this as he wanted something to pass the time. He didn’t like how the young tom’s smile noticeably faltered, though.

“Was she angry with me?”

“No, just disappointed”

“Oh…” Did this mean that he was no longer a mentor, then?

“Not with you, I should clarify. With me…” Shortpaw continued, a sad sigh escaping his mouth “When she heard I had been injured, she expected me to show up with some kind of wound that would scar. You know, a fox scratch across my face or something like that. Maybe a piece of ear missing. The sort of stuff you can show off”

Ravensight was too tired to even attempt to stop his train of thought before voicing it.

“What kind of mother wishes for her children to be permanently scarred?” Disbelief and something akin to disgust sprouted from his voice.

“Mine, I guess” Shortpaw shrugged “She loves me and Fallowpaw, but it’s just… I don’t know how to describe it. She wants to make us cats to be looked up to. Her kits can’t be just another Windclan warrior. None of that” He shook his head and twitched his ears “We must be legends. Leaders if possible. Winning battles and getting scars and stories to tell is a good first step in the road to greatness in her mind, I’d assume”

“And you… don’t want that?”

“Not really. I just want to hunt rabbits” He twitched his whiskers and smiled again “And maybe fight some loner or two. Perhaps even another clan’s warrior too. Otherwise, your battle training would have been wasted”

Ravensight giggled at that.

“That’d be a shame, indeed”

“Indeed it would!” Shortpaw joined in the laughter.

“So that’s it? That’s all the almighty Shortpaw wants to do with his life?” Ravensight teased “You just want to do clan chores?”

“I’d like to have a simple life, yes. Although, well…” There were signs of hesitation on the young tom’s voice, but he continue nonetheless “There _is_ something that I _think_ I want, but… I’m not sure. I want to give it time. Think if I really want to try something with that cat-…THING” He quickly cut himself off “with that _thing!_ ”

_“Cat?”_

Unfortunately, Ravensight had heard the first time and didn’t really have the mental capacity to stop himself at the moment. He searched through his memories and what little he knew about the apprentice’s personal life, trying to think what cat could he consider so important.

“Oh, do you mean your father?” He said the first solid hypothesis his mind could conjure up, without really putting too much thought into it. It just made sense in his tired head “You want to reconnect with your father?”

“MY FATHER!?” Shortpaw snarled, the sheer force of his outrage made Ravensight flinch. For once, he was grateful he couldn’t see very well the face that was spouting those words. The thought terrified him “ I have no father! How dare…! You don’t know anything!”

“I-I’m sorry!” He tried to apologize.

“Don’t bring him up ever again! You have no right!” Each word carried equal amounts of hatred and sorrow, the apprentice sounded on the verge of tears.

Ravensight was positively dumbfounded. He knew very well how it was to grow up with a parent outside of the clan, but he had never expected the white tom to hold such intense opinions on the matter. He rarely thought of his father and sort of assumed the other half-clan did the same. Granted, he hadn’t brought up the subject with anyone before, but still.

“I won’t! I promise!” He hastily answered “I’m tired and dumb. I didn’t know what I was saying”

“Then shut up and sleep!” With that, Shortpaw turned to the opposite direction, resting his head on his paws. The black tom tried calling out to him, but to no avail.

Ravensight considered reprimanding the apprentice to remind him he was still the mentor, but he thought better of it. What would that achieve? Salvaging some of his authority and ego? There was no point in prodding the hornet’s nest further that night.

He felt alone again but not even the walls seemed interested in manifesting anymore. Perhaps they knew better, he thought. Perhaps this was even worse. The silence was more deafening that any of his imaginary sounds had been. Ironically, he now wished for a distraction from his thoughts.

He ended up falling asleep at some point during the night, while he looked at the back of Shortpaw’s neck, whishing more than he would like to admit that the apprentice would turn around and speak to him once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, this chapter came out kind of meh. I don't particularly like the end result, but I don't know what else I could change and I want to move on to transcribing the next.
> 
> Whatever, merry christmast for all of you who celebrate that ;)


	7. Lightstep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Webfur engages his best friend in a rather long dialogue exchange.
> 
> Lightstep gets jealous and also engages in a rather long dialogue exchange. He's kinda dodgy, tho.
> 
> Ravensight thinks about all the stuff and understands about half of it.

** Chapter 7 **

** Lightstep **

By the time Ravensight woke up, Webfur was already back in the medicine den. He could make out his golden tabby pelt clearly even through the morning haziness.

He blinked a couple of times before yawing loudly, earning a small giggle from the medicine cat. He mumbled a ‘good morning’ as he stood up and stretched his limbs and back, then shook his entire body to get rid of any stuck moss. He circled Shortpaw and sat down next to the medicine, carefully starting to groom his fur.

“Morning” Answered Webfur “The stinging nettle is still here, so I presume no complications arose during the night?”

“That’s what’s in the bundle? Doesn’t that, like, make you sick and vomit and stuff?”

“If you eat it. When yarrow isn’t available, it can be used as an emergency replacement, but you should really be using yarrow for that. It’s easier to find” He pause for a second, staring straight ahead at nothing in particular “Well… I guess if you’re trying to make someone throw up on purpose, then it’s for an emergency to begin with, so it doesn’t matter what you use. Only that you use it soon. However, the ideal solution is still…” He shook his head, then tilted it in the direction of his friend and flicked one of his ears “That doesn’t matter. You weren’t supposed to feed him this, though. Turned into a poultice and smeared on muscles, it can help with swelling, as I told you. You remember that, right?”

“Yeah, don’t worry. Nothing happened anyways” Ravensight answered, rolling his eyes.

“Excellent, then! If that’s the case, you’ll be having your apprentice back by midday. Do go easy on him, though”

“No need! I feel fine! We can go back to normal trai-” Shortpaw interjected, but Webfur silenced him with his tail. Apparently the apprentice had awoken very shortly after his mentor had.

“This is not an invitation for discussion. This is an order. Now, please, out of my den. Go lay on the shade for a bit, the open air may do you some good”

Shortpaw sighed in resignation and quietly walked out of the medicine den.

“Get something from the fresh-kill pile too! I’ll be with you in a second” Ravensight called out to him before he was out of sight. Then he turned to his friend and rubbed his cheek against Webfur’s, purring happily. The medicine cat was confused at first, but quickly returned the gesture “Thank you so much for healing him!”

“I mean, that’s my job? And it’s not like it was some life threatening injury or something”

“I know, but it could have been! I would have never forgiven myself if he couldn’t be a warrior anymore because I was too careless in his training”

Webfur scoffed.

“ _Please!_ I’m the best medicine cat Windclan has ever known” He puffed out his chest fur and raised a paw to it “Even if you brought him back with his leg missing, I would have found a way to make it grow back”

“Wow!” He threw back his head in false astonishment, lowering his ears and raising his tail “Such a modest, skillful and wise medicine cat! We are incredibly blessed to have you among us!”

“You truly are!” Both shared a good, heartfelt laugh before continuing. For a second, Ravensight wondered what the rest of the clan would think if they listened to their medicine cat laughing like a mad kit in his den “But honestly, you worry too much about Shortpaw. A freak accident with a bird is more like an odd anecdote than a serious cause for concern”

“Well, sorry for caring for my friends!” He retorted with an indignant flick of his tail “I would do the same for you too, you know! I…!”

“Wait, hold on” Webfur silenced him, much like he had done with Shortpaw “ _Friends_? You two are _friends_?” A touch of disbelief adorned his voice, while bubbling happiness threatened to burst out at any moment “Like actual friends?”

“Yes!” Ravensight confirmed and Webfur positively beamed at him. He smiled, purred, even jumped in place.

“I told you! I told you if you just opened up you’d find more cats that liked you!” He nuzzled his cheek, then his neck, followed by his shoulder and then his neck again. The medicine cat then jumped back, wagging his tail happily “I’m so proud of you!”

If he was being honest, Ravensight felt slightly embarrassed at his friend’s display. But speaking about Shortpaw always put him in a good mood, so he didn’t care.

“Having him around had been so much fun! I’m so glad you asked me to do this! I just…” Then he remembered last night and his smiled faltered. Webfur must have noticed as his expression quickly shifted to one of concern.

“Ok, what’s wrong now?”

“Last night…” He tried to explain “I think I screwed up”

“That is a very specific explanation of your predicament. The overabundance of detail will, undoubtedly, allow me to advice you perfectly now” Webfur flatly responded, with a slight hint of annoyance in his voice.

“Listen, I don’t know, ok? We were just talking about stuff, trying to pass time. None of us were sleepy. And then I brought up his father and he just exploded. He snapped at me and told me weird things, like that I had no right to speak of that. He wouldn’t even look at me for the rest of the night”

Webfur looked slightly downwards, a troubled expression taking hold of his face. He sat down, slowly tilting his head from side to side.

“Huh…” he finally spoke.

Ravensight wasn’t sure how he was supposed to feel about the nonchalant not-answer his friend provided him with, but ‘annoyed’ was the first thing that came to mind.

“That’s all?” He ventured, narrowing his eyes “Nothing more to say? Do you know anything about the matter?”

“Not a lot. More than I should, probably. And nothing that you should know” Ravensight just grunted in response. He was getting irritated very quickly with the sudden secrecy, but didn’t want to snap at his friend. Even if they didn’t want to admit it, part of a medicine cat’s job was to keep secrets “How, exactly, did the conversation go down?” He continued.

“We were talking about the future and he said he wanted to connect and be closer to a cat; but he wasn’t certain so he would wait and see if he actually wanted that. And for some reason, my stupid, feather-stuffed brain thought he was talking about his father”

“He’s sensitive about that topic” Webfur almost spat “Won’t even talk to his sister about it”

“I didn’t know!”

“Even so” The medicine cat spoke more calmly now “You, of all cats, should know to be mindful about these kind of things” Ravensight paused at this. He looked down at his paws briefly, then back at the medicine cat and shrugged.

“I suppose I should” He conceded, suddenly feeling uncomfortable “I just… don’t really see my father as a big deal, I guess? I forget others do” He often wondered why. Perhaps because he chose to occupy his mind mainly on his current or sometime future affairs, rather than past ones. Or it may be that other cat’s lost parents were cats.

To Ravensight, his father was little more than words. A concept.

He had no face, no body, no thoughts.

He existed only in a story told by his mother with a peculiar mixture of fondness and hidden contempt.

Maybe, just maybe, Ravensight needed to actually see his father in person to be able to come to terms with… whatever he felt about him. He wasn’t sure what that even was. He would have to figure that out on the spot when he saw him.

Well… _if_ he saw him.

Ravensight wasn’t particularly sure in what his eyes had been focusing while his mind went down that small rabbit hole of thoughts, but when he came back he immediately noticed his friend eyeing him worriedly. He was worried about something too, he realized.

“Do you think he’d still want to be my apprentice?” He found himself speaking “I mean… I did offend his kin…”

Of all responses, smirking and teasingly narrowing his eyes wasn’t the one he was expecting out of Webfur. Then again, expecting a specific response out of Webfur was setting yourself up for failure.

“Oh, yes… I’m sure of it” The medicine cat answered with the slight hint of a purr “If anything, he’ll probably want to spend more time with you as time passes. Just give him some time to cool off first”

“Really?”

“Although…” For just a moment, Webfur looked… uncomfortable, which was the most unsettling thing Ravensight had ever witnessed “I must give you a warning here” He looked at him straight in the eyes, with a seriousness seldom seen in the golden tabby cat “Be mindful of what you do for now, ok? Do not let it get out of paws”

Ravensight was utterly confused.

“I-?”

“I’ll have to inform Silentstar about this” The black tom stiffened and was about to question this, but the medicine continued “She’ll keep an eye on you, but you don’t have anything to worry about. This sort of thing happens from time to time”

“What the…?” The more words Webfur said to him, the less he understood “What are you even saying right now?”

“If you don’t know, then it doesn’t matter” Webfur winked and his expression suddenly lightened up, his characteristic smile returning immediately “Now, get out of here. Like I said, it’d be better if you let Shortpaw be for today. Give him some space and whatnot. Yelloweyes isn’t going to take your mentorship away for not training one day”

“But-!”

Webfur silenced him with his tail.

“This is not an invitation for discussion. This is an order” He pointed to the entrance of the medicine den with his paw for emphasis “Out!”

\---------------------------------------

Shortpaw had taken the news of his free day rather neutrally, even after being promised a return to his normal training the next day. Or at least, that’s what his demeanor seemed to convey. Ravensight wasn’t really sure anymore, he had already failed to read his friend once.

The black tom was sitting under the sun, enjoying a rabbit. Technically, he was out of camp, but he was clearly within eyesight. Literally anyone could stand in the clearing of the camp and look at him.

And so it was that his brother, Lightstep, noticed him immediately and came trotting up to where he was.

“So, tough day today, huh?” He spoke as he laid down right next to him.

“Hm” Ravensight was too busy chewing to word an answer, but he wanted to acknowledge the question anyways.

“Neither you boyfriend nor your apprentice is hanging out with you. _And_ you’re eating here, in the open, where other cats can see you. That doesn’t bode well” Behind all the teasing, Ravensight could see genuine concern in his brother’s eyes.

“They…” He swallowed “They might be a bit upset with me at the moment, especially Shortpaw. I’m giving them space”

“That sounds like a sensible plan”

“Webfur suggested it”

Lightstep sighed.

“Of course he would”

Ravensight didn’t have anything else to do at the moment but thinking. The topics circling in his head, however, weren’t particularly clear nor pleasant.

And the opportunity to speak with his brother without their mother being present too was something of a rarity.

There were things to be discussed.

“You don’t like that I’m Webfur’s friend, do you?”

“The problem it’s not that you are his friend. It bothers me that you both clearly love each other, but neither does _anything_ about it!” He paused “I don’t care he’s a medicine cat! It drives me nuts!”

Ravensight shrugged at the comment, tilting his head and blinking.

“We don’t love each other in the way you imagine” He nudged the rabbit closer to his brother, who eyed it hungrily.

“I guess not…” Lightstep answered, taking a bite out of the prey.

“How about you? Someone has to give mother some grandkits…”

“Not in a thousand moons!” The white and grey tom quickly answered “At least, not intentionally…”

“Oh?” Ravensight caught on “So there is something going on, then?”

“Nothing you’d want to know”

“Try me”

“So, the other night after a gathering, I might have taken a wrong turn somewhere and ended up in Shadowclan territory”

“That’s quite the wrong turn you took there” He blinked “Almost like you did it on purpose”

“Fancy that” His brother blinked too “So, one thing leads to another and I end up in their leader’s nest, right?”

“For Starclan’s sake, Lightstep!” Ravensight interrupted, his eyes widening in surprise “She’s the leader of another clan!”

“And she is so incredibly soft, too! So much fluff!”

“Stop! You know what, you were right! I don’t want to hear about this…”

“You shouldn’t ask questions which answers you aren’t ready to hear, dear Ravensight” Lightstep giggled at his brother’s discomfort.

“It’s been a constant flaw of mine throughout my life, I’ve been told”

“It’s just a little thing, don’t worry. She’s already getting bored of me. It’ll end before the seasons change” He reassured the black tom, resting his tail on his shoulders for a second “Going back to the topic of love, mother is considering having more kits”

“That’s wonderful! I’d love to be a big brother” He answered enthusiastically, already imagining the little things running around camp, calling him ‘brother’.

“She’s considering Minkclaw as the father”

“M-Minkclaw!?” Ravensight happy expressions was quickly replaced with one of confusion “Of all cats in this clan, why _Minkclaw?_ He’s an alright cat and all, but why would mother want your mentor as mate?”

“Were you even listening?” His brother teased “Mother wants kits, Ravensight, not a mate”

“Oh… then its… fine, I guess” He didn’t like the idea. He _really_ didn’t like the idea. But it was his mother and he had never questioned her decisions before. Well, he had, but not out loud. He wasn’t going to start now.

“Maybe she likes the idea of having a ginger kit. Possibly even a tortoiseshell, if she is lucky”

“It’s being a while since I’ve seen one of those” Ravensight thought for a second “It’d be cool if they were our kin”

“Perhaps… but if while she is in the nursery Minkclaw calls me ‘son’ even once, I’m snapping his neck” The siblings gazed into each other’s eyes for a split second before bursting into laughter. They leaned into each other and just laughed and laughed, until they were struggling for air.

He looked at his brother again and lost himself in his bright blue eyes. He thought about them. He thought about his paw and face markings. He thought of his general body shape, so foreign to the common Windclan cat.

“Have you ever wondered…” He started carefully “about our father?”

“No, I don’t need to. I know who and where he is” His brother answered casually. He had honestly expected a lot more resistance after Shortpaw’s reaction. Maybe he was forgetting who his brother was. Maybe he didn’t know anyone he thought he knew, after all.

“What’s his name? Where does he live?”

“I don’t care and with a Twolegs. Don’t know exactly which” He yawned, all his teeth bared in the wind. Then he shifted into a more comfortable sitting position. The rabbit was already gone, so pushed the scraps to a side to be buried later “If you want to see him, just ask for a place in the patrol that goes near Twolegplace. Pay attention to the fences and one day you’ll see him, eventually. He is the only thing in this entire area that looks like me”

Ravensight nodded.

“Have you ever talked to him?”

“No”

“Why?”

“There is nothing I want to hear from him”

“Not even if he loved our mom?”

“Mother thinks of him for time to time, but as I said, she cares way more about kits than keeping mates. _His_ opinions on the matter don’t interest me”

“That’s a bit harsh” He looked down at the ground and for a moment thought of leaving the conversation there “And us? Wouldn’t you like to know if he cares for us?”

“Why would he? He’s never seen or spoken to us. He doesn’t know us. Whatever love he could feel is just a delusion” He blinked lazily, looking out into the horizon “Cats aren’t obligated to like each other just because they are kin, Ravensight”

“I guess that’s true…”

“I don’t hate him or anything, if that’s what you are wondering” Lightstep continued “I just don’t care about his existence”

Ravensight remained quiet for a couple of minutes. His brother was really open today. Normally he would dodge questions and just crack jokes. Maybe it was because he had seen his sibling so distressed, maybe he himself wasn’t feeling like messing around today, or maybe it was something else entirely.

Whatever the reason, Ravensight relished the opportunity to have this kind of conversation with his brother.

“You know a thing or two about cats outside the clans, right?” He ventured. Lightstep acknowledged the question with a flick of his ear, still looking straight ahead.

“I do a lot of patrols close to Twolegplace, on top of my personal expeditions. I’ve been around a lot of kittypets and loners, yes” He looked at his brother and winked “Why? Looking for some excitement?”

“I’ve received information from a very good source that claims crossing Thunderclan borders is a sure way technique to get me all the excitement I could ever want”

“Your sources are correct!” Lightstep snorted “However, keep away from their medicine cats in particular. They bring nothing but trouble”

“Duly noted”

“Being serious now, what do you need?”

“Do you know something about Shortpaw’s father? Anything at all?”

“He’s dead”

“Do you know how he died?”

“Bits and pieces. Nothing very clear, beyond the main things”

“I don’t need an overly detailed explanation. Tell me what you can”

“There was some sort of arrangement between himself and Yelloweyes” He closed his eyes and started narrating “Part of that arrangement was the kits. One for him, one for the clan. I suppose Yelloweyes is more of a sweetheart than we give her credit for, because she grew fond of both kits. So when the time came to give one up, she refused. Instead she invited the tom and his friends to… renegotiate”

“And what were the new terms?”

“They never showed up”

“Huh… why wouldn’t they?”

“They…” His brother started, then hesitated for a second “Might have suffered some kind of, let’s say, accident on the way”

“I see…” Ravensight surprised himself by how apathetic he felt about the information. He thought back how regretful he felt about injuring that random rogue, but he simply couldn’t bring himself to care about his apprentice’s father. Maybe the idea that, should he have lived, his apprentice might have been taken from him fueled him with cold, unadmitted hatred “Do you have any idea why Shortpaw hates him so much?”

“Nah…” Lightstep shrugged “As far as I know, they never interacted. Whatever his opinions on his father are, they’re probably based on whatever his mother has told him”

“I guess that makes sense” It sort of did, sort of didn’t, but Ravensight would lie if he were to say he wanted to know the truth. That would involve talking about it with either Yelloweyes or Shortpaw, and he really didn’t wanted to do it with neither, for different reasons. Fallowpaw was an option too, but he wasn’t even an acquaintance of hers, so it was unlikely he would get anything out of the young she-cat “Were you involved in the accident?”

“Would you truly like to know if I was?”

“No”

“Then you won’t” Lightstep twitched his whiskers and looked at his brother “Both mentor and apprentice are quite inquisitorial today”

“What do you mean?” He tilted his head “Did Shortpaw speak to you today?”

“Oh, yes!” His brother sat up with half closed eyes and one of the cheekiest grins Ravensight had ever seen “The sweet little thing was worried that he made you upset”

“He didn’t made me…” He started contradicting but stopped himself “Ok, so, what did you told him?”

“Only that you were, indeed, quite upset”

“You really shouldn’t have said that. I was the one who made _him_ upset” He sighed. Two apologies were in order, then.

“Then he proposed trying to cheer you up with your favourite prey and asked what it was” His brother continued “That way he could surprise you with one tonight, hunted especially for you!”

“So, he’s out in the moor, hunting rabbits? That’s so sweet of him, using his free day like that” He looked back at the scraps of their shared prey “I wish you’d have told me sooner, though. I’d have eaten something lighter. I don’t think I can eat another rabbit today”

“Weeeeeeell…” He stretched out the word, as if savoring every second “It is a good thing, then, that I didn’t tell him to get you a rabbit. It hops too, but it’s not _quite_ that”

Completely puzzled, he stared at his brother who was already starting to chuckle.

“But rabbit _is_ my favourite prey? Stereotypical, I know, but still. Why would you lie?” Then it clicked “What did you t-?”

Those pure blue lakes that his brother had for eyes sparkled with a mischievous evilness he hadn’t seen since they were kids. The black tom shuddered at the implications.

“You’ll find out soon enough!”

“Lightstep, tell me what you said to my apprentice at once!”

“What did I told you about questions with answers you don’t want to hear?” His brother teased, barely containing his laughter, before getting up and flicking his tail against his ears.

Then he bolted straight run back to camp, with Ravensight giving chase close behind a few moments later, once his legs started responding again…


	8. Yelloweyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ravensight unknowingly issues an indecent proposal. Later on, he ends up dinning with the deputy. Kind of.

** Chapter 8 **

** Yelloweyes **

Ravensight stared at the… _thing…_ lying in front of him.

Because it was a _thing_. Any other term wouldn’t make it justice. Calling it prey was almost inconceivable. There was no way in this world or any other the creature in front of him was a frog.

It was abnormally big, half the size of a young cat. It had a broad, seemingly muscular head, and Ravensight could swear its mouth could easily fit a cat’s head inside. He wasn’t keen on verifying that, however.

Its skin was of the most vivid green he had ever seen, with black and white patches here and there. It honestly could be confused with a Twolegs’ fake, were not for the blood dripping from its mouth. That and the smell of still water, mud and death.

How had Shortpaw caught this? WHERE had Shortpaw caught this?

This would be the sort of prey that would be talked about in legends by Shadowclan elders, told to the kits to show how everything in the old days was bigger and better.

But alas, here it was, laying in front of him instead.

The clan had noticed that the young apprentice had brought him the gift, too. It was hard not to when, again, the creature at his feet was bright green and half the size of its catcher. It contrasted heavily with the greys and browns of the usual fresh-kill.

Many cats just flinched and backed always as soon as they saw it. Others just eyed him curiously, waiting to see what he would do. Kits were almost afraid of the frog, looking at it suspiciously without traversing the threshold of the nursery.

Webfur, who was watching them with a sympathetic smile and half concealed by the shadow of the medicine den, had apparently realized what was going on and had discreetly made him know there would be herbs ready for him later.

Yelloweyes looked at him with an odd mix of realization and sympathy, of all things. But what mattered to him was that, with her watching, there was no way of turning down the prey. It would upset Shortpaw, which in turn would upset her.

Silentstar, comically, was so taken aback by his gift that she run head first into the Tallrock. She let out a tiny meow of pain, but otherwise did her best to dissimulate the accident.

Considering the fact that catching frogs for the clan had been discussed some moons ago, the black tom couldn’t imagine the kind of reaction something like this would have caused had those conversations not taken place.

Meanwhile, both his brother and mother were laughing their tails out, some distance away.

“I…” Shortpaw softly spoke next to him suddenly “I’d like to apologize for last night” Ravensight slowly turned his head to face his apprentice. The young white tom was sitting at his side, rubbing one front paw with the other and looking away.

“You really didn’t have to…” He smiled at him. He tried to, at least. He hoped he was smiling.

“I wanted to!” His apprentice faced him, his eyes widening and shining under the moonlight “I need to! You are such a wonderful mentor, always teaching and encouraging me. And you’ve always being nothing but nice to me. You took time out of your life to look after me in the medicine den, even after you had to drag me all the way back to camp when I foolishly injured myself. You even refused to sleep to keep me company and comfort me, to the point you couldn’t think due to exhaustion!” That wasn’t entirely true, Ravensight thought. He genuinely couldn’t sleep that night. There were more pressing matters, however “And all I did in return was get mad and snap at you like an adder for something you couldn’t possibly have known”

“Well, it was inconsiderate of me…” He tried to speak, but Shortpaw wasn’t done.

“Still, I overreacted and made you very upset. I noticed how you were acting afterwards. So, here…” He laid a paw on the frog and nudged it closer to Ravensight “I caught it myself, just for you! I’m fully aware that this can’t make up for the bad moment I put you through, but I wanted to do something nice for you” He smiled at the black tom and then pressed his head against his shoulder “I sincerely hope you like it…”

Ravensight felt pretty awful.

Looking at the frog made him feel ever worse.

But thinking about dashing his apprentice’s happiness by refusing his gift made him feel as if not even the Dark Forest would consider letting in such a monumental piece of dirt as he would be.

Maybe he could say that he had already eaten? But that would create the problem of having one-day-old frog for breakfast, because he wouldn’t be able to get rid of it without someone noticing. It wasn’t the most subtle thing to discard. And he couldn’t just drop it in the fresh-kill pile, for the same reason.

Also Yelloweyes, he noticed out of the corner of his eyes, was still looking at him strangely from the rock next to the Tallrock. Silentstar was too, though her gaze was more neutral. He couldn’t do anything but eat the thing with them there.

Maybe he could come up with something, but he needed to get out of camp.

He would have to improvise some sort of plan, but first he had to thank Shortpaw properly. It wasn’t the apprentice’s fault that he was in this position.

He wrapped his tail around the apprentice’s body, who in turn pressed ever so slightly harder against his shoulder. He lowered his muzzle and touched the smaller tom on the forehead. Then he parted his maw and slowly ran his tongue across it and up one ear. Finally, he rested his chin on top of Shortpaw’s head. The apprentice in response appeared to shift his body so he could sit as close to his mentor as possible. Ravensight could feel their fur touching all across his side. The white tom now was pressing and nuzzling against his neck, purring very softly, as if he wanted only Ravensight to hear. The black tom tried to match him with a purr of his own.

“Thank you so very much” Ravensight whispered “Not just for the frog, but the thought you put behind it” He paused “And the kind words too”

“I-It’s nothing, really!” For some reason, he could swear Shortpaw felt warmer.

He casted a quick glance around the clearing, noticing that most cats had already finished eating and were laying down to sleep. The remaining ones were apparently too enthralled with the situation to go to bed yet.

Now was his chance! If he could come up with some way to leave the camp, he could just ‘accidentally’ drop the frog on a ditch or something. He would act kind of disappointed but he would tell Shortpaw that the intention was what mattered to him the most. To compensate, he would catch something for the apprentice tomorrow for breakfast.

It was an excellent plan, Ravensight concluded. At least, it was excellent when compared with the rest of the plans he had, which were none.

“Hey, Shortpaw?” He began carefully. He had to be convincing while also vague.

“Hm?”

“Some cats are looking at us…” He noticed that Shortpaw was actively suppressing his purrs to make them softer. He was hoping that meant he was shy in front of many cats, just like him.

He felt as the white tom opened his eyes and subtly looked around. Apparently he had closed his eyes at some point? Ravensight hadn’t noticed.

“Oh, yeah… your mom and mine are staring at us…” He looked down at his paws and shifted uncomfortably “This is kind of awkward. I didn’t think they’d be watching still”

“Yeah, it is” Ravensight finally lifted his head and looked down on Shortpaw, who in turned raised his to meet his gaze “Why don’t we leave? Just for a while?”

“W-what…?” The apprentice’s eyes started to widen and his front paw were shaking a little bit.

Was that a good sign or a bad one?

“Let’s go into the moor, just the two of us. Let’s find somewhere more private, where we can eat this together and talk...”

Shortpaw was already pressed very close to him, so he felt everything before anything happened. Every single white hair in his fur prickled, his ears and tail shot straight up, so much blood flushed to his face that even Ravensight could feel the warmth emanating from it.

The apprentice suddenly jumped, several tail-lengths in distance and height. He landed clumsily in his paws and immediately tripped and staggered. He regained his balance quickly though, and took a couple of deep breaths, as if he was struggling to get air.

Ravensight didn’t have the slightest idea what had just happened.

“I-I… you… w-we… us…” The young tom tried to formulate a sentence but kept failing, again and again. After some very long seconds, he coughed and cleared his throat, then simply stated “No”

Not knowing what to do, Ravensight just repeated.

“No?”

“No” He said, more firmly this time

“Alright…” So going out of camp was no longer an option. The black tom sighed internally. Then, he urgently needed a new plan. Most of the clan was already asleep, so he couldn’t delay eating the disgusting frog much longer.

But before he even tried to think of anything, his apprentice spoke again.

“Listen, I want you to know, I feel the same way…” His apprentice had a strange expression. He seemed conflicted and at the same time determined, which threw off Ravensight even more “I promise you a ‘yes’ someday, but not now” He looked around quickly before lowering his voice “Please, wait for me. When I become a warrior, we’ll have plenty of opportunities!”

And once again, before Ravensight could say anything, or even process what he had just heard for the matter, Shortpaw gave him a little lick on the cheek and bolted straight to the Apprentices’ den.

Ravensight was so lost at this point that he honestly wouldn’t have been able to tell anyone with certainty if he was sitting in Windclan’s camp, the bottom of the lake or a crater in the moon.

The only thing going through his mind at the moment was, besides the fact that he _still_ had a frog in front of him, were those last words from Shortpaw.

_‘When I become a warrior, we’ll have plenty of opportunities’_

Was… was catching frogs something Shortpaw planned to keep on doing?

Even after he became a warrior!? Was he _that_ dedicated to making his mentor happy?

Ravensight’s head began to spin. He hadn’t even gotten out of this mess, now it’d be a lifelong occurrence?

He couldn’t just tell the white tom that he hated frogs now. He’d need some excuse. Maybe he could tell him that it was improper for Windclan cats to catch that kind of prey? Again, the fact that adding frogs to the normal fresh-kill targets had been discussed would complicate matter, but he was a bit confident he could convince his apprentice if he caught him in a good mood like tonight.

He was so preoccupied by his thoughts that he sound of approaching paws didn’t even registered. Only when he heard the sound of a cat loudly clearing their throat did he raised his head, just to meet a set of yellow eyes adorning a white fur looking back at him.

“Greeting, young Ravensight” Yelloweyes greeted evenly, no emotion apparent in her face.

“Good evening, Yelloweyes” He responded automatically despite the initial shock. He managed not to stammer, which was a good start “How do the stars find you tonight?”

“Fairly well, all things considered” She meowed in response as she sat down in front of him “May I ask how Shortpaw is doing in his training?”

“Well…” Ravensight gulped “I don’t have a report prepared right now. Could you give me until tomorrow?”

Yelloweyes softly purred in amusement and gave him a half-smile.

“Oh, I’m not asking for anything formal! Forget about me being your deputy. Right now, I’m just a mother wanting to know about her kit”

“Oh, well, he… he’s making good progress” He started, still nervous but less than before “He’s an adept hunter of many types of prey, he knows how to move in all terrains of our territory, he has significantly increased his endurance over the course of training and has shown promising results in battle training” Ravensight tried to be a bit formal, despite Yelloweyes words. The she-cat nodded at each point he mentioned with a pleased expression.

“Good, good… and your personal opinion of him?”

“My personal opinion?” Ravensight tilted his head in confusion.

“Yes. Your opinion of him. As a cat”

“I…” What was his opinion on him? What _did_ he think of Shortpaw? He always enjoyed having him around and seeing him upset made him upset as well. This whole debacle with the frog was partially due to that. He was willing to do anything but break the apprentice’s heart. How to explain that to his mother, though? “He’s a wonderful cat that’ll be a loyal warrior to Windclan. He’s hardworking, sincere, caring for his peers and a lovely cat all around. I personally like to consider him a friend”

“A ‘friend’, you say? Caring and lovely?”

Yes, he saw him as a friend. But when he said ‘friend’, he was referring to something similar to his relationship with Webfur. That was the kind of friendship he was used to.

Shortpaw felt like Webfur, only slightly different.

“Yes. I can only hope he feels the same for me”

But what made it feel different? And why did he saw their friendship at the same level as Webfur’s, when he had known the golden tabby for much longer?

“So, it’s that it?”

Ravensight fidgeted uncomfortable before Yelloweyes’ judging gaze.

“I don’t know what else I can tell you. That’s my opinion on him, ma’am” He had more to say about Shortpaw, but he hadn’t realized how complicated his thoughts about him were until he actively tried to explain them.

He suddenly remembered how nice the white tom’s fur felt against his own.

He’d have to think about that too.

“Huh…” She scoffed, almost in disbelief “I was expecting something more, I don’t know, wordy? I was ready to listen to a speech that’d try to make me believe things. Some made up poetry that would put you on my good side”

“I’d never try to deceive my deputy” He spoke as softly and sincerely as he could “I genuinely think your son is a wonderful cat and I really like spending time with him outside of training” He paused and gave her a small smile “I’m looking forward to him becoming a full warrior, so we can spend more time together. You know, without the mentor-apprentice thing”

Yelloweyes strangely looked into the distance and sighed, before closing her eyes and slowly nodding. The Windclan deputy got to her paws and gave a short, courteous nod, before starting to walk away. However, Ravensight immediately called her back. She eyed him with curious suspicion as she returned.

“Yes?”

“Can I ask you a favor?” He almost whispered.

All signs of friendliness disappeared from the she-cat’s face.

“What do you want?” She asked coldly.

“Could you please, perhaps, convince Shortpaw not to hunt more frogs for me?”

As fast as her irritation had come it went away, replaced with confusion.

“What? Why?” She tilted her head and flicked both ears “I thought you liked them? He spend the best part of the afternoon asking where he could find the best ones, just for you”

“No, I don’t!” He snapped, praying that he wasn’t pushing his luck too far “I hate them! They honestly make me physically ill!”

Yelloweyes shook her head, even more confused.

“Then why did you tell him that you did?”

“I didn’t! It was a prank from… other warriors!” He was careful not to name his brother. He’d get revenge on him someday, somehow, but not by snitching on him “He asked them for my favourite prey and they told him it was this to have a laugh at my expense!”

“And a moment ago? You had a chance to set things straight! Why did you accept the frog?”

“You were watching us, right? You saw the happiness in his face when he brought me this thing” He prodded the dead creature in front of him “He was so happy and proud. He told me so many nice things” Ravensight realized just now how he wished he would have told Shortpaw some things too “He was even purring! How could I refuse to accept his gift?”

Yelloweyes stared back at him, straight into his eyes, for what seemed like an eternity.

Then came the laughter. Soft, silky smooth laughter, cold and mysterious as moonlight. It was absent of malice, it was genuine, it was terrifying. It almost made Ravensight’s heart stop and his blood freeze nonetheless.

And when it stopped, it was replaced with a smile just as incomprehensible.

“You younglings and your silliness” She finally spoke “Alright, I’ll speak to him. I’m certain that I can device some sort of excuse”

“Thank you, Yelloweyes! Thank you so much!” Ravensight said back “I was dreading the idea of having to deal with frogs the rest of my life”

“The rest of your…!?” She started but stopped herself, blinking a couple of times in quick succession and sighing once again “You are getting quite ahead of yourself, dear…”

“Sorry?” He wasn’t sure what Yelloweyes was referring to, but he felt he had to apologize.

“No matter. The important thing here is that you won’t have to worry about this green fresh-kill in the future. However…” She looked at him, suddenly with an almost cruel smile and half close eyes “You _will_ have to eat this one”

“But I…!”

“The Warrior Code states that prey is killed only to be eaten” She interrupted “You didn’t kill this one, but it was killed in your name, thus making you responsible for it”

“Isn’t there any other way around this?” Some traces of fear found their way into his voice.

“Is the mentor of the son of a deputy seriously suggesting breaking the Warrior Code so openly?”

“I-I thought I was supposed to forget you were deputy?” He offered weakly.

“That was before. Now is now. Besides…” She then added in a tone as thick and sweet as honey, almost as she was singing “We wouldn’t want all of Shortpaw’s efforts to go to waste, now, would we~?”

Ravensight understood fairly well that he wasn’t supposed to answer.

So he looked down at the _thing_ again and shuddered. He wasn’t even sure how to dig into it. The only time he had tried it was when another cats was eating them and they offered a piece. He opened and closed his mouth several times, trying to decide from which angle to approach it, painfully aware that Yelloweyes was still patiently observing him.

He decided that ‘quick and painless’ would have to be the way to go about it, so he practically lunged at the prey’s midsection as if it were an enemy’s throat. He was immediately assaulted by a horrifyingly strong flavor, like the smell of fish turned to crow-food but worse. Instead of being warm and slightly coppery tasting, the blood was cold and watery, with no flavor to disguise the meat’s.

He struggled to pull a chunk out of the fresh-kill, having to pull back with his neck while holding it with both paws. The skin of the frog felt on his tongue like licking an infected wound and was incredibly chewy. He even had difficulties pushing it down his throat. The aftertaste was just as bad as the initial taste.

He took another bite, this time catching some thin bones in the mouthful. What sometimes added a fun crunch to a mouse now just exacerbated the overall awfulness of the experience.

How could Shadowclan cats eat this?

Well, that part maybe he understood. Some seasons were harsher that others and sometimes desperate measures are the most reasonable. So this disgusting fresh-kill would be preferable to starving, obviously. Not to mention less dangerous to procure than rats.

But how could Shadowclan cats _LIKE_ this!?

How could they _prefer_ this over other types of prey, even during Newleaf?

Ravensight didn’t understand that. And frankly, after forcing down a fourth mouthful of torture, he was very well past the point of wanting to understand. This was something Shadowclan could take to Starclan for all he cared. Every single particle of him was raising up in protest. Every organ within him twisted and contorted in pain, begging him to stop.

But he couldn’t, Yelloweyes was still there, watching him.

And thus, after a while that probably wasn’t as long as it felt, Ravensight managed to reduce his gift to mere scraps. Bones too hard to consume and much of the thing’s skin. He just couldn’t deal with that anymore. He wasn’t sure if he had the strength to even swallow water.

“Good job” Yelloweyes congratulated him while patting his head with one of her paws. Then she gave him a courteous lick on the shoulder and started padding away, calling back to him before disappearing into the leader’s den “Be sure to bury your scraps, dear!”

He did so to the best of his abilities and immediately after he rushed to the medice den. His head was starting to spin and he was barely capable of walking.

Webfur was actually waiting for him, laying near the entrance. He stood up as soon as he noticed his warrior friend approaching and gently guided him to one of the moss beds. Ravensight laid down on his side, feeling worse than ever, and blinked in confusion when Webfur presented him with a leaf holding a chewed up pulp.

“That’s not yarrow…” He stated. That was what he was expecting

“No, that’s mainly watermint” The medicine cat replied, now setting down a soaked up moss ball next to the warrior “Among with some other herbs. We’ll try to help your stomach digest your snack more smoothly before we go with the yarrow route”

“Why?”

At first Webfur didn’t answer. He circled his friend and laid down next to him, draping his tail over the black tom’s body reassuringly.

“It’s just standard procedure. We don’t want to waste prey if we can help it. Trust on you medicine cat, alright?” He whispered, as he started to groom his friend gently with his tongue “Take the mix and try to sleep. I have yarrow ready if it doesn’t work, don’t you worry” He started at the base of his neck, slowly going downwards.

“Alright…” Ravensight did as ordered and was pleasantly surprised at the medicine’s sweet taste. He was even more surprised with how quickly it seemed to take effect.

He still felt bad, but considerably less bad than before. He started to relax, half due to the medicine and half due to Webfur’s attentions. He gently leaned his head backwards, nuzzling his friend with his head and purring softly.

“Feeling better, I see” Webfur said as he stopped his grooming and nuzzled him back “Now try to sleep. I’ll be here in case anything happens” The medicine cat then stood up and walked outside of Ravensight’s current vision range. He was unbothered by this, he could feel his friend was still there.

Again, Ravensight grunted in agreement and got as comfortable as he could, trying his best to ignore the fact he was inside a den.

He closed his eyes and not long after he was walking in the realm of dreams.


	9. Fallowpaw

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mandatory gathering (beach) episode, in which Ravensight engages in social interactions and then cuddles a she-cat.
> 
> Ravensight: "Gnarly experiences, 0/10, would not recommend"

** Chapter 9 **

** Fallowpaw **

So it turns out you are supposed to peel off the skin of frogs and toads before eating them.

AND it’s better to just eat their legs. Organs and bones aren’t nutritious enough to justify the effort it takes to consume them and their nasty aftertaste. Not to mention, they can make you very sick depending on what the prey had been eating before you ate it.

Ravensight would have been very grateful to the Shadowclan warrior in front of him, who was currently laughing his tail off at his expense by the way, if such information had been delivered to him _before_ his foray in green prey degustation a quarter moon ago.

Right now, it just added to his generally sour mood. He wasn’t particularly fond of Gatherings.

It was an important part of clan life and a time-honored tradition. It was an excellent occasion for a cat like himself to gain notoriety by just being there and having his name spread around. It was a wonderful occasion to interact and get to know different influential cats in other clans. It was an invaluable date to have a glance at the politics of the different leaders and see what their demeanor were towards each other, so as to identify threats before they even manifested themselves.

He knew all that. He understood all that. But he still would rather be anywhere else.

Ravensight just couldn’t believe how quickly these Gatherings had grown monotonous and dull. Attending them back when he was an apprentice was exciting, but once he became a warrior he started looking forward to them less and less.

What was he even doing there in the first place? His brother wasn’t among the chosen to attend, neither was his mother nor even Shortpaw! Why _HIM_ then? He couldn’t even spend time with Webfur, since he was at the front with the rest of the medicine cats!

This had to be a punishment of some sort. Or maybe Smallflower’s impression of him and his supposed plan to become deputy was something the clan shared, which might as well be a punishment from Starclan, for all he cared. He just couldn’t imagine Yelloweyes perceiving him as a cat waiting for her to die so he could succeed her as nothing short of disastrous.

How did it get to that point? Had he really pushed too far into clan affairs to get an apprentice? So much so that it was impossible for his Windclan compatriots to believe anything else but that he was after the deputyship?

He shuddered suddenly at a new train of thought that, surprisingly, hadn’t come to him until now.

What was Silentstar opinion in all of this? Surely she wouldn’t take too kindly to the news that one of her warriors was just waiting impatiently for her _best friend_ to die.

If he was being honest, the prospect of being deputy sounded enticing when he first became a warrior. It just sounded like the natural progress of a successful career for a clan cat. However, the more he understood about clan politics and the ways of Starclan, the less inclined he was. The idea of potentially becoming Ravenstar was worrying now, not exciting.

He wasn’t a leader. He was like Shortpaw. He wanted a simple life in the moor.

Regardless, this was most certainly a ploy of Silentstar to put him on the spotlight. He convinced himself of that, at least.

And if that was the case, he was well on his way to becoming a Shadowclan ‘celebrity’, so that was a success. He wasn’t quite sure how to feel about it. He just hoped Shortpaw didn’t find out.

Speaking of him, Ravensight found himself wishing he was with that white tom rather than among this crowd. Or at least, that he was here with him. That would give him something nice to concentrate on.

With each day that went by, he got progressively more scared of just how much he yearned to spend time with his apprentice. A particular fondness gripped his heart every time they got to interact outside of training, just the two of them hunting or play-fighting or just talking. It really reminded him of how he felt about Webfur when they were apprentices.

The difference was that, with Webfur he was sure about the nature of their relationship.

But with Shortpaw?

Ravensight was completely aware that he was a rather naïve cat. However, even he had started to notice the way Shortpaw was behaving. Granted, a lot of it he hadn’t realized at the moment, but looking back he was sure of what was going on. Webfur’s advice made a lot more sense now… as also did certain reactions he had gotten out of his apprentice.

The black warrior had never imagined that he would be the one being pursued by another cat one day. And he wasn’t feeling compelled to stop him in the slightest, but at the same time he was unsure of how far he wanted to let it continue. He was honestly looking forward to Shortpaw becoming a warrior even more, just to see where that would lead them.

Yelloweyes knew about it. She _had_ to know. But she hadn’t done anything to stop it, so he had to assume she was alright with the idea.

And Silentstar had brought him here, so she mustn’t be opposed to it either.

On second thought, maybe bringing him to the Gathering _was_ a punishment…

Oh, right! He was at a Gathering now and he was supposed to mingle with cats from other clans!

The Shadowclan tom he was just speaking with had had his fun and had returned with his clanmates. The leaders had delivered their news and there wasn’t anything interesting happening anywhere. Well, a Twoleg kit had fallen into the lake close to the Riverclan camp, but that was it. A couple of cats found that amusing, but not him. Kits being endangered wasn’t funny, no matter what kind of kits they were. Luckily, it had been rescued on time and Ravensight hoped it was alright.

He approached a nearby she-cat that was by herself. By the faint smells of mud and fish, he could tell she was a Riverclan cat before she told him so. She was there mainly to see her kits being introduced as apprentices to the rest of the clan and wasn’t in the mood for conversation, which Ravensight found fair. He must have missed their names during the announcements, the Twoleg’s kit incident sort of overshadowed everything else.

A nice tom from Skyclan provided him with some moments of internal amusement, mainly due to his name, although he did have some cool stories about the last moon in their territory. The idea of spending so much time in the treetops was fascinating for him. And the legends that their elders told about the Great Pilgrimage so many seasons ago, when Skyclan had come to the lake for the first time, was also something that he was deeply interested in.

But, in all seriousness, why in Starclan’s name would someone name their kit Rockykit? And why would a leader convert that into Rockypebble?

Most of Windclan warrior’s names were quite literal and frankly boring, with some like Smallflower and Hollowstreak leaning more into the symbolic side. But Holy Ancestors did he felt glad for their naming conventions!

He bumped into another she-cat, this time from Thunderclan. She was more talkative and lively than the previous cats, telling little stories from her side of the territory and cracking a few jokes. Ravensight started to genuinely enjoy this interaction. Until, that is, she subtly but not-really-that-subtly hinted at the offer of a forbidden relationship between them. He just rolled his eyes and didn’t bother answering, opting for just walking back to the Windclan group. She followed for a few paw steps, sort of insisting that it was necessary to fulfill a prophecy or whatever, but the black tom just kept walking.

_Typical Thunderclan being Thunderclan._

Things were wrapping up by that point. News had been shared, pleasantries exchanged, acquaintances made and friendships reaffirmed. The moon was tired of sitting in the middle of the night sky. It was time for everyone to go back to their respective homes.

On the way back to camp, he was conscious that Yelloweyes and Silentstar were making him walk right behind them and in front of everyone else. This just had to be another deliberate action to make him more visible, but he couldn’t understand this sudden interest of showcasing him. He had been pretty adamant about not wanting to be deputy, and Yelloweyes was till perfectly healthy so there shouldn’t be a reason to have a replacement at paw already. At the same time, he wasn’t even sure if he’d have what it took to refuse the deputy position if offered.

It was a difficult situation. Every step he took to be more well-known among his clan and to participate more of its affairs, just like he promised Webfur, meant edging closer and closer to places he didn’t want to go.

The moment their group set a paw back in Windclan territory, he felt at home. The immensity of the moor greeted them with the breeze caressing their pelt, bringing with it the smells of heathers, ferns and wildflowers. An equally unending starry sky looked down upon them as they walked. Silentstar and Yelloweyes yowled their goodbyes to their Riverclan counterparts over the border, as each group separated and plunged deeper into their respective territories.

The group spread out a little bit, there was enough space for everyone to walk comfortably now. At Silentstar’s signal, they picked up the pace, briskly trotting through the flatland. Soon enough, the camp came into view, and meows of joy and relief resonated among the group. Most cats would be asleep by now, but Ravensight could see that some had stayed awake to welcome them back. They sat quietly near the entrance so as to not disturb the rest

The black tom wasn’t really up for talking. His eyes felt heavy and a faint headache had started manifesting, no doubt due to being awake for so long. And, truthfully, he didn’t expect his family to be among the awaiting cats. They knew him better than that, so they’d wait until tomorrow if they wished to hear news from him.

They entered the camp in as much of an orderly fashion as a group of half-asleep cats could muster. Immediately, both leader and deputy gave a polite nod to their clanmates and walked away from the main group. To discuss something that was learned at the gathering, Ravensight supposed, though what exactly he couldn’t imagine. It’s not like he was paying attention to what the leaders and deputies were doing after the announcements anyways.

A couple of cats came and began to strike up conversations around him, relaying news and stories from other clans to their peers, but the majority joined the rest of the clan in the clearing to rest for the night.

Ravensight carefully scanned the clearing, trying to spot his family, but stopped as soon as his eyes fell upon a white pelt slowly rising and falling among the sleeping cats. He grimaced, remembering how disappointed his apprentice had been when he found out he was staying in camp tonight. He knew very well that he was the odd one that didn’t like Gatherings. The rest of his clanmates eagerly looked forward to the occasion.

So, he decided, he would try to do something nice for Shortpaw. A small gesture, something to brighten up his night a little bit. Up until now, he had been mostly in the receiving end of Shortpaw’s displays of affection. He hadn’t really reciprocated much, or at least not in a particularly deliberate manner. This would make for a good start, he believed.

Mindful of not stepping on anyone’s tail, he slowly approached the sleeping white cat. With every step he took he felt a little bit more nervous, and his whisker felt ever so slightly warmer. He casted side glances from time to time, trying to see if any cay noticed him. Most didn’t, and those who did cared very little. He reached Shortpaw eventually and a small smile found its way to his face once he saw him sleeping so peacefully. He looked around again, just in case, and started settling down next to the white cat.

He realized that he probably didn’t need to be this secretive. Many of his clanmates already kind of suspected that something was going on between himself and his apprentice.

He curled up against Shortpaw, careful not to disturb him. Against his better judgment, he started to purr at the whole situation, as softly as he could force himself to. He drew a paw over the white tom, very gently dragging him against himself, and pressed his muzzle against his scruff.

He felt so unimaginably comfortable being this close to him, to the point he almost felt ashamed. He nuzzled softly the other tom’s neck, before pressing his muzzle against him again and taking a large sniff of Shortpaw’s scent, wanting to remember it forever.

Then his eyes shot up in alarm and he stopped all his movements.

He hadn’t realized before. A mixture of sleepiness and the congregation of so many Windclan cats’ scents in the open had prevented him from realizing it, but….

Shortpaw’s scent smelled really… _Female_ tonight.

He immediately jumped to his paws, almost tripping with his own tail, as Fallowpaw slowly turned her head to face him. Her eyes flared with anger and her muzzle contorted into a snarl, displaying the edges of her fangs. Her fur stood on end and her tail angrily swayed from side to side.

Though, thankfully, her anger dissolved into something more akin to annoyance once she realized who had tried to sleep next to her.

“Oh, Stars, it _you…_ ” She spat “Have a thing for white cats, don’t you? Is one deputy’s kit not enough?” If Yelloweyes’ way of speaking could be described as honey laden with poison, Fallowpaw’s was closer to licking dry badger blood out of the Thunderpath. It somehow conveyed the same things, with none of the subtlety or self-restrain

“I’m sorry!” Ravensight apologized, desperately trying not to draw attention to them. Thankfully, Fallowpaw seemingly wanted the same, because she maintained her volume barely above whispering level “I didn’t realized it was you!” He cringed at how meek his voice sounded. He really needed to learn how to speak with more authority someday.

“You’d better be sorry!” Her gaze burned into his, to the point he was actually scared of her for a moment “And what do you mean you didn’t realize!? Do you not have a nose!?”

“I didn’t noticed! I was too tired!” With how wide awake this whole fiasco had made him, he found the concept of being tired inconceivable at the moment.

“Well, so am I! But I’m not going around waking up cats, you dirtpile!” She flexed out her claws, sinking them into the ground, making sure that the older tom noticed them “I swear, if I fall behind in training tomorrow, I’m reporting you to Yelloweyes!” He stared at her, not really knowing what else to say “He’s in front of the warriors’ den…” She grumbled suddenly, clearly wanting to minimize their interaction at the moment “Got tired of waiting for you…” She laid down again, but one of her ears was directly pointing at him, waiting to hear him go.

Ravensight didn’t want to upset her further so he immediately took his leave.

He made his way across the clearing as quickly as he could, once again mindful of his sleeping clanmates. He did manage to spot another white cat close to the warriors’ den, assumingly the actual Shortpaw, but he just didn’t have the will the try anything anymore.

He traversed the entrance to the den quickly and laid down on an already made bed on the far corner. It wasn’t his but he was too distressed at the moment to try and scent whose it was.

As odd as it was for him to spend a night away from the stars, his initial shock quickly gave way to shame and embarrassment. The prospect of someone having seen his aimless imprudence was too much to bear. His gaze fixated on the entrance, expecting Yelloweyes to burst in at any moment, looking for explanations that he either didn’t have or didn’t want to give, depending on the question.

He closed his eyes and steadied his breathing the best he could. He was still very uncomfortable between these walls, but he was tired enough that he managed to catch some sleep. Not much, as he found himself already waking up by the time the sun was halfway up the horizon, but it was something.

Immediately upon regaining consciousness, however, he was strangely aware of a foreign warmth. Ravensight knew immediately that it didn’t belong to him, but yet felt it had always been with him too. It was an odd feeling for sure, partially brought upon by the haziness of waking up.

He slowly opened his eyes and raised his head, his gaze fell on a white cat precariously pressed against his side, with his head lying next to where Ravensight’s had been and his tail awkwardly wrapped over the black tom’s body.

He contained his excitement for a moment. He was pretty certain who it was, but he wanted to be sure. He pressed his muzzle right into the other cat’s shoulder and took a tentative sniff.

Indeed, there it was. This was the scent he had been looking for the previous night. He started purring softly as he moved his muzzle under the neck of his sleeping companion and buried it in his fur, a content sigh escaping his maws.

There was nothing necessarily different about Shortpaw’s scent. On the contrary, he smelled just the same as he had always done. But lately that scent, which once served only as identification, was making him feel different. Maybe it had always made him feel that way, but he was only now in the right mindset to notice.

Shortpaw began squirming slightly. Worry momentarily gripped Ravensight, as his mind reached the conclusion that he had overstepped some boundary, but relaxed again once he heard the soft chuckling coming from the white tom. Out of the corners of his eyes he caught Shortpaw looking down at him.

“Hey…” his apprentice meowed at last “Had a good night?”

“Average. The morning is certainly better…” The answer left his mouth before he could think too much about it, but he silently congratulated himself. That had been smoother than he ever thought he could be.

“Oh~?” Shortpaw cooed at him, placing a gentle lick between the black tom’s ears “What are you doing in here, by the way? I thought you weren’t very keen on enclosed spaces?”

“I’m… hiding, basically”

“Hiding?”

“From my shame”

“Care to elaborate?” Shortpaw pressed, a hint of worry appearing in his voice.

“I, unsuccessfully, tried to… tried to be, erhm…, nice to a cat last night” Shortpaw raised his head, and Ravensight did the same to match his gaze. The apprentice tilted his head in confusion “Specifically, with your sister” Outrage flashed for a second in Shortpaw’s face before his mentor could continue “It was an accident. I confused her with you” He felt so incredibly stupid now that he worded his incident.

Apparently Shortpaw found that highly comical because, after a short pause to process the information, his initial anger turned into amusement and he loudly laughed while pressing his forehead against Ravensight’s chest. The black tom didn’t say or do anything, besides also laughing softly.

_It was a kind of funny situation, I guess_

He thought better about it.

_To witness, at least. Not to be in._

“I can just picture your face!” The white tom finally spoke after he calmed down.

“Please, don’t. It was a horrible experience”

“How so?” Shortpaw asked as he retreated his head “My sister is as pretty as I am, is she not? Surely it wasn’t that different?” He teased.

“Your sister has some… personality, let’s say” He anwered, blinking “I swear, I thought for a moment I was taking with Yelloweyes…”

“Oh my Stars, no! Not even close!” The apprentice smile widely, before teasingly whispering “You wouldn’t be alive if you’ve tried to flirt with mom”

Considering the track record of Yelloweyes previous companions, Ravensight very much believed that to be true. However…

“I wasn’t flirting!”

“Don’t lie! I’ll ask Fallowpaw later! Unless…” Then added with half-closed eyes “Well, we are all alone here. And you can be sure this is the real me. Want to take advantage of the situation and tell me something?”

“I do, in fact” His voice taking a more playful tone, Ravensight gave a firm swipe with his paw to one of Shortpaw’s ear, then quickly got up “You’ve been slacking too much and I’ve been too lenient. Your hunting needs more practice, so we’ll join all of today’s hunting patrols. Then, more combat practice in the afternoon. You’ve been having too many free days this moon” He spoke as he was heading to the exit, and couldn’t help but smugly smile at the dumbfounded expression of his apprentice.

“Wha…?” Shortpaw shook his head in confusion, as if he had been struck with a splash of water right in the face.

“Less words, more prey! OUT!” At once, Shortpaw bolted past him towards the gathering patrol.

Feeling satisfied and following his apprentice, Ravensight noticed that Shortpaw was very few paw steps away from becoming a warrior. He was almost the size of an adult cat, had been feeding well and seemed to get bolder and bolder with each conversation they had. The black tom realized that he was quickly losing authority, if he ever had any at all, in the odd relationship they were having.

But he also realized that perhaps, in reality, that wasn’t _really_ such a bad thing.


	10. Oliver

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After repeatedly stating that he doesn't care, Ravensight realizes that he cares immensely.
> 
> Also, his (cough) friend and his father bond over kittypets feeding habits, I guess?
> 
> Tis a weird one, fam *shrugs*

** Chapter 10 **

** Oliver **

For a moment, just for a split second, Ravensight might have confused him for his brother.

A somewhat logical conclusion, all things considered. Lightstep was known to roam close to Twolegplace, and thus was the go-to cat for dealing peacefully with loners and kittypets.

So finding him out here, sitting on fallen tree so close to the border, staring almost expectantly into Windclan territory wouldn’t really be an unthinkable scenario by any stretch of the imagination.

Not even the collar would be that hard to explain. His brother wanting to pass as a kittypet in order to roam around undisturbed in Twolegplace would be a story he was very likely to buy, even if he couldn’t explain how he would put it on.

“H-hello there?” The intruder jumped down from his seat and slowly tried to approach the patrol, each step betraying his uncertainty. That was most certainly not his brother’s voice. It lacked confidence and it had too much politeness.

He should have expected this to happen sooner or later. This was the reason why he asked for a spot on these patrols from time to time in the first place, just like his brother had advised. He just wasn’t expecting to actually succeed. It had taken almost two moons for the encounter to take place and he still wasn’t ready.

“Who are you!?” Aspentail snarled next to Ravensight. The she-cat took a step towards the intruder, her back arched menacingly and her back legs ready to pounce.

“What are you doing in our territory!?” Shortpaw appeared at his other side.

The intruder flinched and staggered back, but otherwise kept his gaze fixated on Ravensight. The black tom was really glad that so far, besides the standard questioning, neither of his clanmates had try to escalate the situation. Shortpaw shot a quick glance in his direction and must have noticed how uncomfortable he was because he immediately took a subtle step to the side, trying to stand protectively close to his mentor.

Ravensight took a deep breath.

_‘There is nothing I want to hear from him’_

His brother’s words resonated in his head.

Was there something he wanted to hear?

“Aspentail, Shortpaw…” Ravensight spoke carefully, trying to hide any emotion “Could you… could you, please, continue the patrol?” He could feel the gaze of both cats focus on him now “This kittypet is no threat. He must be lost. I’ll escort him out of the territory.”

Aspentail held her gaze, but nodded shortly after and started padding away. Ravensight wondered for a moment when had the clan started to trust in him so much that his fellow warriors were willing to follow his orders without question.

Shortpaw didn’t move from his spot, though. And to be honest, Ravensight didn’t expect him to. Neither did Aspentail, considering she took off without even pretending to wait for him.

“Please, Windclan warrior” The intruder spoke again “I just want to talk. My name is…”

“Oliver” Ravensight interrupted. Both Shortpaw and the other cat blinked and stared in confusion “You are my father.”

Oliver’s mouth hung open in disbelief for a couple of seconds, before morphing into small smile. His face was full of emotions that the warrior found very hard to read. He approached Ravensight with quick but careful steps. The black tom was scared for a second that Shortpaw would misunderstand the situation and attack the kittypet, but he either decided to not interfere or was too stunned to do so.

His father reached him and paused, taking a moment to stare directly into his eyes, before gently pressing his forehead against his son’s.

“S-she told you about me…” He heard him whisper “She actually told you about me…”

“Not much…” Ravensight spoke softly “But yes, I was told about you”

Oliver straightened up, smiling widely now.

“I’m glad you even recognize me at all… I have no right to demand anything more from her”

“I thought you two separated in friendly terms?” Shortpaw chimed in, causing Oliver to glance at him curiously.

“Well, we didn’t try to slit each other’s throat or anything” He looked at his son again “Some harsh language was definitively exchanged that day. But we reached the conclusion that separating was the best for you.”

“It definitely was” Ravensight couldn’t really imagine a life as a kittypet. Oliver nodded, seemingly thinking the same thing.

“After I refused to join Windclan, I thought she would try to erase me from her memory” He sighed “To this day, I regret that decision…”

“You shouldn’t…”

“I still love her…”

“She probably never did”

Oliver winced, closing his eyes. Ravensight regretted his choice of words immediately. Even Shortpaw shot a look in his direction that let him know he should have been more tactful about the topic.

“I know…” His father finally breathed out, opening his eyes again “In some way or another, I always knew” He finished with a shrug, though his expressing showed he was in pain.

Ravensight stared at him, not knowing what to say next. Shortpaw shuffled uncomfortable on his paws, his gaze shifting back and forth between the older cats, clearly wanting to voice an opinion but not daring at the same time. The Windclan warrior noticed him out of the corner of his eye and wondered what was going through the young tom’s head. He had had such a strong reaction when he first mentioned his father.

With some hesitation, he close the distance with Oliver and sat down next to him.

“Enough of my mother. I’ve just met you! I want to hear about you!” He spoke softly, sporting the friendliest smile he could manage “How are you? How are things in Twolegplace?”

“I…” His father started with a smile again, though it faltered immediately “Do you actually care?”

“I do”

“You don’t have to lie to me. The fact that you recognize me at all is enough to make this trip worth it” He smiled again.

“Ravensight doesn’t lie!” Shortpaw interjected before his mentor could answer “He’s been always honest with everyone!”

Oliver flicked his gaze to the younger cat again, but Ravensight couldn’t see what expression was on his face. He was busy looking away in shame.

“Well, everything’s been fantastic as of late!” His father’s voice brought him out if his thoughts “A bunch of Twolegs have moved out of their nest and new ones have taken their place. They brought with them a lot of new cats into the territory. So many new faces to meet, with even more stories to share!” He looked at him and noticed how he sat straighter, with more confidence; his eyes shined with warmth again and his voice betrayed an odd eagerness to share his words with the strangers in front of him.

Because that’s what they were.

Strangers.

They shared blood and they knew each other’s names, but what else was there to form a connection?

“Twolegs are weird” Ravensight said “Why do they have the need to move so much? And why do they build so many dens, for that matter? Why not just make a large one? I’m sure they could”

“Yeah, could you image how insane our camp would be if every single cat had a den for themselves? Not that we use them, mind you, but still!” Shortpaw added “Twolegs are mad. Luckily for them, they are sort of scary too. Otherwise, something would have driven them out of their territories”

“Oh, they aren’t mad! They are just a little… quirky?” Oliver answered “They don’t just do things at random, like you think. I’m sure they must have a reason for doing what they do, we just can’t understand it.”

He felt strange, realizing that he partially agreed with his brother. His father knew nothing of him, so why did he apparently loved him? Why did he still loved his mother when she had hurt him so badly and basically abandoned him?

He pondered about that as he listened, but his father’s words didn’t give the impression of a delusional cat, as his brother believed he would have to be.

No.

Ravensight had another, perhaps also precipitated, opinion about his father.

Oliver was just a better cat.

“Speaking of Twolegs, do yours treat you kindly?” The black tom inquired “Do they feed you properly? Do you have a warm place to spend your nights?” It was a rather odd thing to ask, no amount of pellets would count as ‘properly’ for him; but he was aware that there were just as many abused kittypets as pampered ones.

“Oh, they do! Only one Twoleg in our nest, though, but she is very kind to me!” His father spoke excitedly “She evens sits down and talks to me when I’m feeling down! Oh, how I wish I could understand what she says!”

He was almost certain that he couldn’t have done it. He’d heard snippets of the story from his mother, who he assumed had twisted some words to make herself look better. And even knowing only that version of the story, he was still sure he wouldn’t have forgiven his mother.

It wasn’t the fact that she abandoned his father, although maybe abandoned wasn’t really the appropriate term. Many cats get together for a couple of moons to have kits and then go their separate ways. Kits are the lifeblood of a clan, and giving kits to the clan is an unstated but implied duty of a warrior.

“Hey, I kind of have a doubt about you kittypets” Shortpaw spoke, genuine curiosity gleaming in his eyes “Do you only eat what the Twolegs feed you or do you guys actually hunt prey?”

No, what Ravensight considered most damnable about his mother, he now realized, was the fact that she invited him to join the clan fully intending to break up with him shortly after their kits were born. She would willingly tear him from the world he knew and hurl him into the wilderness, only to leave him alone among clan cats.

Ravensight fully believed that a warrior’s way of life was unquestionably nobler and more fulfilling than any other, but it was a path that a cat needed to choose. Kittypets and loners could be taught how to walk down this path, and some clan cats decided that they couldn’t or didn’t want to. It ultimately always had to be a choice. Something to be promoted but not forced.

“Well, that’s a case by case thing. Some kittypets only eat Twoleg food, some others hunt and some indulge in a little bit of both”

His mother wasn’t a bad cat, or at least he didn’t think so. She could be considered selfish to an extent. Only she, her kits and Starclan mattered. This also, by extension, made her care about the clan’s leader and medicine cat. Not any individual cat in particular, but whoever occupied the positions were Starclan’s envoys and thus valuable in her eyes.

“Interesting… so where do you fall in those categories?”

He loved his mother.

Even if he wasn’t the nicest of cats, he loved his brother, too.

And now, looking at the kind face of his father…

“In the last one, of course! That’s how I met Hollowstreak!”

Just hearing him talk, noticing just how much he cared for his son, a cat he had never interacted before…

“So you went into a wild cats’ territory, trying to steal prey, and came out of it borrowing a she-cat?” Shortpaw joked "Talk about a nice catch..."

He thought the kittypet was just mad. Or at least naïve.

Kind of like Ravensight himself, really.

“Well, it’s more like… she borrowed me” Oliver half-jokingly answered, offering a somewhat awkward smile to the younger tom “I did manage to catch a bird, though! I’m super proud of that to this day! But I don’t remember what kind of bird it was”

“You thief!” Shortpaw quickly responded, adding a fake gasp of outrage “Filthy prey-stealer!”

The way he looked at him when he realized Ravensight knew who he was. How his eyes sparkled with forlorn nostalgia at the mention of Hollowstreak telling their kits about him. How he talked with Shortpaw as if he had known him since kithood.

“I swear I gave it back! I gifted it to Hollowstreak! Ask her if you don’t believe me!” Oliver hurriedly defended himself, though his playful smile made it clear he understood it was a joke.

“Well, I mean…” Shortpaw tapped his bottom lip with the tip of his tail, mockingly pondering the confessions “Your transgression _did_ end up giving us Ravensight…” It happened in a fraction of a second, the apprentice’s eyes flicked towards his mentor then back to the kittypet, and in that small moment they showcased a kind of fondness Ravensight wasn’t sure he deserved “So I think we can let it slide”

He loved his father. He couldn’t explain why. He had given up in that enterprise.

As the thoughts of love entered his mind, he dared to take an almost apprehensive glance at his apprentice, and Ravensight became painfully aware of how much he cared for him.

Rather than giving him peace of mind, the realization bothered him somewhat.

“You’ve mentioned that name before” Oliver’s words brought him back to reality, noticing he was looking at him now “Is that how she named you?”

“She named me Ravenkit” The black tom replied “The -sight part was given to me by Silentstar, our leader”

“Oh, yeah, right! You clan cats and your customs” He shook his head “Any meaning behind it? Or it just sounded nice next to raven?”

“If I had to guess…” Shortpaw chimed in “It’s because of his amazing tracking skill. He is the best in Windclan, right Ravensight?”

“I used to be, at least” Said cat answered, a particular incident coming to his mind regarding another white cat “But I don’t track with my sight, though”

“Well, Ravennose sounds mouse-brained” The younger tom joked “So, you know, approximations”

“Close enough for me” his father nodded, turning to the white apprentice “And you? What’s your name?”

“I’m Shortpaw. Your son’s apprentice”

“Shortpaw?” He repeated, looking at him curiously “You are almost as big as us! Were you the runt of your litter or something?”

“Not really” Shortpaw shrugged “Sometimes a name is just a name. No meaning behind it” He flicked an ear in is direction while narrowing his eyes and tilting his head “Does _‘Oliver’_ stands for anything?”

“Well, _I_ wouldn’t know!” Oliver snorted “But fair enough”

Just then, Ravensight was suddenly betrayed by his mind, as it was usually the case. He looked to the sky, then back in the direction of the Windclan camp and sighed with disappointment. He remembered why he was out today and what he was supposed to be doing. Had Aspentail made it back to camp already? He could only hope it had been an uneventful patrol.

Shortpaw was also supposed to help with the elders todays. The apprentice was reaching the end of his training and his mentor wanted to drive home the importance of looking after the old and vulnerable members of the clan. Was there still time for that? Maybe for helping with ticks, if nothing else?

This had been a wasted morning of training, if he was being honest. He’d have to request another patrol after sunhigh, and that would invariably require him to confess that he’d ditched this one to Yelloweyes and that Shortpaw had followed him. At the very least the deputy seemed to know a lot about her son, despite the little time they spent together, so Ravensight was confident he wouldn’t be blamed for dragging Shortpaw into it that much.

It didn’t really matter, he concluded. The image of him, his father and Shortpaw sitting together under the sun and just talking amicably among each other was something he was going to treasure in his mind, regardless of the consequences.

“Father…” He interrupted the other two cats, who had apparently started another conversation while he was lost in his thoughts “It’s been a joy to finally see you, but I’m afraid you can’t stay here any longer. I’m leading a border patrol and you’re trespassing. I must ask you to leave”

“Of course” His father nodded, his shoulders dropping in resignation “Getting to spend time with you is wonderful, but I understand your clan duties must come first”

“We can meet another time, if you want. Just call out to me if you see me in a patrol” He offered

“My Twoleg isn’t as lenient with me as she used to be. She worries too much. Probably thinks I’m getting old” His gaze shifted to his paws, as if he was feeling ashamed “My little doors on her den are locked more often than not”

“We walk different paths and follow different rules. I won’t claim to know anything about Twolegs, but judging by what you said. She seems to genuinely care”

“She does, I’m sure. But I don’t know when I’ll be able to visit again as a result. Or if at all”

“Even if it not for a long time, seeing you once in a while would still be nice”

“I’ll do my best. Won’t you get into trouble for speaking to kittypets?”

Ravensight almost snorted at that. If anything, getting into that kind of trouble would be beneficial for him at this point.

“No, don’t worry”

“Then…” He pressed his cheek against Ravensight’s and softly purred into his ear “I’ll hopefully see you soon, son”

“Father?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you for letting me live among the clans”

Oliver smiled despite the tears already forming in his eyes

“If it made you happy, then it’s been my best mistake”

\-----------------------------

As soon as their goodbyes were exchanged, Ravensight turned around and headed back home at a brisk pace. He intentionally walked down a slope and followed a longer path. Shortpaw dutifully followed his mentor closely, undoubtedly noticing they weren’t going straight to camp but choosing to remain silent.

Ravensight didn’t want to see his father walking away. The idea hurt too much. This way, he could pretend his father was still sitting next to that fallen tree. That he would still be there when he turned back or the next time he lead a patrol. The hills blocked his sight so his father hadn’t left, he was still there.

He knew better than that, however. He couldn’t fool his own mind.

His face morphed into a hateful scowl for a moment, his claws unsheathing and sinking into the ground, almost making him trip. For a moment, he wished his father had fallen into Hollowstreak’s trap all those seasons ago. Oliver would be unhappy, without question, but at least he would be living with them in Windclan camp.

He couldn’t hold on to that thought for long, though. He didn’t have the heart to wish for such a thing. Oliver deserved better.

Shortpaw had caught up to him. Or rather, he had stopped moving at some point and his apprentice was now sitting at his side, eyeing him warily with a worried expression.

“Are you alright?” He timidly meowed in a tone so uncharacteristic of him, Ravensight almost thought he was another cat. Maybe he had switched places with Fallowpaw when he wasn’t looking. It wouldn’t be the first time he had confused one for the other.

“I don’t know” He answered in the most sincere way he could.

“That’s alright…” Shortpaw shifted closer to him until their shoulders were touching “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No” The apprentice nodded, a long sigh escaping his lips, before pressing his head against his mentor’s neck and draping his tail over his back in a comforting manner. The familiar warmth that this would normally bring him felt so far away today.

He didn’t want it right now. He didn’t need it right now.

He needed Webfur. He would know what to do and what to say, as he always did. He would steer his thoughts where they needed to go, he would make him see what he couldn’t see. He so desperately wanted to run straight into the medicine den to spend the rest of the moon sitting in a corner and talking with his friend.

But he couldn’t keep relying on the medicine cat for everything. It wasn’t fair for neither of them. Webfur already had a whole clan to look after besides his spiritual duties, while repressing some emotional baggage of his own. He didn’t need this kind of thing thrown into his lap too.

Ravensight tried, failed and then tried again to keep a mildly positive outlook of the whole affair. He had met his father and he would meet him again. Not tomorrow, not this moon, probably not this season, but some day. That was enough for now. It had to be. There was nothing to be discussed, no need to talk with anybody else about the matter.

He casted a quick glance at his dear friend, still pressed against his shoulder, trying to provide as much silent comfort as he could. He felt revolted with himself, thinking of how quickly he was ready to cast aside this new cat in his life, who cared so much about him, to go running back and hide.

The image of his mother crossed his mind and he shuddered. He felt a knot forming on his stomach as he found himself thinking that perhaps his fur color wasn’t the only thing he inherited from Hollowstreak.

He was unbelievably grateful when the almost half-hearted purr of his apprentice brought him back to reality.

“Are we just going to include paternal drama into all our flirting sessions from now on, Ravensight?” Shortpaw softly whispered, the beginnings of a smile starting to appear in his face.

Ravensight couldn’t imagine a worse time to make that kind of joke. It was so far removed from the situation at paw that his heart fluttered with happiness.

It was exactly what he wanted. Exactly what he needed.

“We are not flirting” He retorted.

“Well…” He took a quick glance behind them, his eyes flashing with mischievousness “I know for a fact that I didn’t intertwined our tails. Is that a coping mechanism of yours, then?”

Ravensight didn’t need to look. He knew their tails curled around each other like embracing snakes. He knew he had reached for the others with his, almost instinctually, at some point. Probably as soon as he felt Shortpaw by his side.

“Perhaps it is”

“Ah… do help yourself, then. But what about our brushing flanks? And your purrs when I nuzzle your neck? It’s not the first time…”

“It’s cold”

“It’s not. We’re in Greenleaf”

“The _last_ days of Greenleaf. It’s colder”

“You’ve slept in the open in the middle of a snowfall. I don’t think you can feel cold”

“The point still stands”

“Of course”

“Does it… bother you?”

“What kind of question is that?” Shortpaw snorted “By now, you should know the answer very well”

“I was just checking” Ravensight sighed “A lot of things I know tend to be challenged frequently”

“Maybe you don’t _know_ them, in that case”

“Isn’t that more reason for asking?”

“I’m an exception. You do know me”

“Yes” He smiled “Thanks the Stars I do”

“Thank my mom. She’s the one that brought me here. Although, she’ll take offense to that. _Somehow_ ” That got a chuckle out of the black tom, which in turn caused his apprentice to softly purr at him.

“Thank _you_ , Shortpaw”

“What for?”

“For being here. For the distraction. And… for everything” Ravensight looked into his eyes and blinked very slowly while purring loudly.

“Anytime…” Shortpaw returned the gesture. Closing his eyes, he stretched his neck a bit and gently brushed his nose against his mentor’s.

“But you are still on elder duties today, though”

Without opening his eyes, the apprentice murmured back.

“Foxdung…”


	11. Webfur

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ravenpaw and Webpaw being friends, part 2: Electric Boogaloo - The Jebaiting and Forshadowing Chronicles. Featuring: Insecurities, questioning of one's place in the world and lack of feelings of self-worth. And Knuckles.
> 
> In which Ravensight forgets he's trying not to rely on his medicine cat friend and just dumps all his problems on him through a truckload of dialogue, trying to get a solution through free psychological therapy. Even Webfur is getting tired of this.
> 
> Oh, and Shortpaw makes a cameo because his face was in the trailer and I had to put him somewhere.

** Chapter 11: **

** Webfur **

It was something that Ravensight had realized not long ago. A realization reached through experimentation and empiric observation. A fact that he considered a universal truth, akin to the sun rising at dawn and setting at dusk.

It didn’t matter how many times it happened, waking up snuggled up with Shortpaw would never make him feel less happy.

However, it made getting up considerably more challenging, both mentally and physically. It was a price worth paying, he supposed. A new challenge for a new part of his life, and not a particularly unpleasant one at that.

Not that it was an overly common occurrence, just something that happened once in a while. He was still a little wary of being affectionate with his apprentice in front of others. That was a qualm the younger tom most certainly didn’t share.

However, without even discussing it, his apprentice kept their interactions strictly within the mentor-apprentice dynamic during training. He was grateful for that and it showed how well Shortpaw understood him.

Outside of training, it was hard not to see them together. Not close enough that they couldn’t be confused by just a normal mentor hanging out with his apprentice; but close enough that, if you payed attention, you’d noticed their sides brushing and their tails holding each other.

By some miracle, he’d managed to leave camp without waking his apprentice. He was used to waking up early and decided to go hunting on his own to kill some time until Shortpaw woke up. Leaf-fall wasn’t in full swing yet, though it was starting to show itself. Thankfully, the moor prey wasn’t as affected by it as the forest’s may be, but that was offset by probably the harshest Leafbare of all territories, with only Riverclan’s coming in close.

So it was never a bad thing to help elders and queens put a little more meat on their bones before the snow came.

On that note, he was a little disappointed with his performance. Two mice and a lark was barely enough to feed a cat and couldn’t compare to catching even one scrawny rabbit. Alas, that was the downside of going hunting when even the prey hadn’t woken up yet.

The fact that this was some extra hunting for the clan, not a proper hunting patrol, provided him with some reassurance. The patrol would bring the rabbits the clan needed, he was sure. Maybe these mice could serve as some of the kits’ firsts solid meals instead? He didn’t quite remember at what moon kits were introduced to fresh-kill, but that would be really cute.

That brought on a curious train of thought.

He didn’t think about kits very often, chiefly because there was no point. He liked seeing them happy and safe, he supposed. He liked the fact that there were kits running around in the camp and he very much liked interacting with them, but he understood it was unlikely he’d have kits of his own. While he thought it’d be nice to have them, he didn’t necessarily want them either.

But that decision wasn’t his alone now, was it? There was another cat that he’d need to talk this with.

Would Shortpaw want kits? He didn’t seem like the family type, but Ravensight knew better than to judge blindly like that. He’d be down for raising kits with him. How could he give Shortpaw kits if he did want them, though?

He shook his head slowly as a warm feeling crept up his cheeks and whiskers.

Too early in the morning to be thinking about that.

The actual hunting patrol was preparing to leave when he arrived, silently exchanging blinks and nods in farewell with him. There were some more cats missing too, so he inferred the dawn patrol had already left. Shortpaw was still sleeping peacefully in the same spot he had left him. Not really surprising, though still disappointing. But it was a free morning for him, so he could sleep in if he wanted, that was fine. Ravensight was the one with the problem.

Well, that only meant he needed something else to do. An answer to that dilemma popped in his head when he heard movement coming from the medicine den. He hadn’t visited his friend in a while, he realized. He dropped the mice in the fresh-kill pile, but kept the lark.

He walked into the medicine den with a bird hanging from his mouth, just like he had done countless times before. Webfur was there, like he had always been, stretching his muscles before standing up. He was shivering slightly and Ravensight erroneously thought he had a cold night sleeping on his own.

He recoiled in surprise when the fear-scent hit him suddenly as if it was a paw striking his muzzle, clear as day even through all the feathers and blood. Not even the collection of herbs did anything to dampen the smell. Ravensight took a step forwards with worry gripping at his heart.

The medicine cat must have heard him, for he turned to face him almost immediately. The warrior gazed into widened eyes full of shock and terror; eyes that perhaps didn’t recognized him, or more unnerving still, recognized him instantly.

“W-well, would y-you look at that!” A smile appeared on his face as he approached, faker than the stone animals in Twolegs’ gardens. Ravensight gently laid the lark on the floor and tried to speak, but Webfur hurried to press their cheeks together. He couldn’t help but notice how tense his friend felt, how he pressed himself against him with much more conviction than normal, like was trying to find refuge in Ravensight.

“Are you alright?” He managed to say.

“Shh… just… give me a moment” The medicine cat took a very deep breath and let out an equally long sigh. Taking a few steps back, he shook his head and blinked repeatedly, before sitting on his haunches and looking back at Ravensight. Just like that, his eyes were back to normal.

“Better?”

“Yeah, thanks! Sorry you had to see me like that. Starclan’s timing is rather inconvenient as of late”

“Did you have a vision? Was it something bad?”

“Oh, absolutely nothing that a warrior should worry about…” Somehow, for the first time in a long while, Ravensight doubted his friend’s words.

“If you say so…”

“But that doesn’t matter now! What a lovely surprise, this is! It’s been some time since you last dropped by! Are my charms actually not good enough anymore?”

Ravensight decided to drop the subject for now, for Webfur’s sake, and pretended to think about the question. Or better said, their time honored joke.

“No”

“Foxdung!” He stomped with his front paws, still smiling “I’m not used to having competition! I’ve been outplayed by an apprentice of all things!”

“Hey, at least I keep bringing you birds, right?” He offered, pointing to his lark.

“Oh, wow, that? Not even a pigeon? I’ve been thoroughly outclassed here, haven’t I?”

“What can I say? You should’ve groomed yourself more. Maybe worked on your attitude a bit, too”

“Meh! Shoulda, woulda, coulda… whatever!” He licked a paw and dragged over his ears, then narrowed his eyes “Not worth the effort. You aren’t _that_ handsome”

“Shut up!” He playfully shoved him on the shoulder, and Webfur pretended to stagger “I’m glad to see you again, too. How’ve you been? How’s the medicine thing being going? Besides… well…”

“To be honest?” He shrugged “Lately, I feel like I’ve been turned into Noclaw personal caretaker”

“ _Noclaw?_ Is there a cat named like that in the clan? Did we take in a rogue or something?”

“Nah, it’s how I call Minkclaw now. He’s pulled like four of his claws in the span of a moon” He shook his head, the smallest hint of frustration showing on his voice “How can a cat pull so many? What is he even doing? Digging through solid rock?”

“Hey, maybe he’s doing it as an excuse to see you?”

“If _that’s_ the case, he could at least have the decency to bring me something interesting to work with. Maybe climb a tree and dive head first into a rock. I’ve never tried my paws at putting a skull back together before…”

“Webfur, that’s horrible!” He laughed at his friend’s weird sense of humor “A medicine cat shouldn’t wish for harm to come upon his campmates!”

“I never said I wished it happened! Just that if he has to keep bothering me, he could bring me a real injury!” He groaned loudly, his frustration now clear as day “He doesn’t even wash his paws before coming here! And for some reason, the stupid thing never gets infected! I don’t understand! His left paw should’ve fallen off by now!”

“A normal medicine cat would consider that to be good luck for the clan”

“Ravensight, it almost offends me that you’d try to compare me with something normal” He let out a long, deep sigh, before smiling again “Anyways, that’s it for me. I’ve adopted Minkclaw, _apparently!_ How about you? Shortpaw’s training going well?”

“I’m alright. Haven’t adopted anyone yet” He couldn’t stop a purr from leaving his throat when Webfur rolled his eyes “I’ve been too demanding of Shortpaw, I feel. It’s just feels so repetitive now, so monotonous. Like, how many times do I have to make him show me a hunting crouch or how many times do I have to impose a certain number of prey to catch, when I _know_ he will get them in the end"

“That’s what training is, Ravensight. Being part of a clan is getting used to its routine. You were an apprentice once, weren’t you?”

“Yeah, but I don’t remember it being this _dull_!”

“Well, there were more apprentices during your time”

“I spent my days mostly with you, though”

“All the good that has done for you!”

“I like to think it contributed to my caring personality”

“No, you already had that. It made you _soft_! But, whatever. Battle training, then? Is that a little more exciting?”

“I guess?” He shifted awkwardly in his paws “The problem there is that there isn’t many cats to practice with. It’s just me and him, most of the time”

“And his sister? What about her?” Webfur frowned in confusion.

“Smallflower doesn’t let her train with us all that much. Just from time to time, a spar or two, maybe a hunting patrol. Yelloweyes orders”

“Huh... no wonder their training is taking longer than usual”

“Tell me about it. It’s becoming increasingly awkward calling a twelve moon old cat my ´apprentice´”

“I don’t see it that way, but then again, I’m a medicine cat. Being twelve or more moons old and still an apprentice is pretty much the norm. I was sixteen when I got my name and I only got it then because… because…” His voice trailed off at the end, his eyes focusing in a particular spot of the den, where some time ago there had been a second bed for medicine cats.

Ravensight could almost feel the mood of his friend ebbing away.

“So anyways!” He decided to interject before the situation deteriorated further. Webfur turned to face him again, with an expression that almost seemed grateful “I’m thinking of changing the final assessment. The battle part, at least”

“Changing it?” The medicine cat’s eyes widened and his ears perked up “What for?”

“To make it more dynamic, I don’t know. At least more interesting”

“How would you do that?” Was that… worry in his voice?

“I don’t know yet. Maybe involve more cats than just the apprentices? Something like what Shadowclan does”

“Shadowclan is Shadowclan, Ravensight. We are Windclan”

“Still, it can’t hurt to learn from other clans, right?”

“I…” He seemed ready to argue something, but decided against it, shaking his head to get rid of the thought “Just make sure Silentstar is informed of this. She hates secrets”

Ravensight nodded at him, though he didn’t really have any intentions of talking with his leader if he could help it. He had been entrusted with Shortpaw’s mentoring and he truly believed that this was for the best, so Silentstar would surely understand, right?

Besides, he didn’t mean to keep the final assessment a secret, as Webfur had eluded. It’d be very hard to, considering he’d need help from his fellow warriors.

“Anyways, that’s all I guess” He reassumed “I went to do some hunting on my own today, to enjoy the moor alone and all that. I let Shortpaw rest for the morning, I think he deserved it. Sorry I couldn’t find anything bigger for you, by the way” Then he added with a small hint of shame “I really tried”

“Even the greatest hunter can’t make prey just appear. I’m sure the clan appreciates your efforts”

“I couldn’t find any rabbits, so I’m not so sure about that…” The warrior interrupted, but his friend ignored him.

“And for the bird, I mean, nobody else bothers with them too much, so I appreciate it anyways” He sat down and began to carefully pluck the feathers out of his fresh-kill “You know, it feels surreal somedays. It almost seems that I was asking about your own training last night. But here we are, talking about your _apprentice’s,_ who’s like a couple of pawsteps of becoming a warrior himself”

“Yeah, I know what you mean” He let out as sigh, long and drawn out, filled with all sort of emotions, contentment being chief among them “But time passes, I guess”

“Bold theory. Do you have any evidence to back it up?”

“No, I’m sorry. You’ll have to blindly trust me on this one”

“I’ll have to consult with Starclan to see if that’s a wise course of action”

“Oh, it’s not. I can tell you that front the get go”

“Then it’s more likely that they’ll approve of it” His friend snorted and then blinked warmly at him. He wasted no time to reciprocate.

Ravensight truly relished the moments he got to just be silly with Webfur. He wished he could share them with Shortpaw too, but he had to maintain some semblance of authority while he was a mentor. Or at least, he felt he should.

It was hard to know how to behave when not training. Shrewspring had been a rather serious cat all the time, while Smallflower was quite the opposite. Ravensight tried to be somewhere in the middle, but it felt forced to him. Neither of them were being courted by their apprentices, though. That complicated things.

He was looking forward to fully sharing his oddness with Shortpaw. If he wanted, of course. At least he hoped they could hang out with Webfur. As much as he tried to not rely too much on the medicine cat, the golden tabby was engrained too much in his life to just let him go.

“So, speaking of time passing… Shortpaw is quite the tom, isn’t he?”

“You can say that, I guess”

“Aren’t you worried he’ll feel led on if you don’t ask the big question?”

“I don’t think there is any need to ask anything, honestly. We both enjoy each other’s company very much”

“Well, as a lover of formalities, I’d assume you would anyways”

“I’ll propose we become mates, but not while he’s still officially an apprentice. I’ll do it after his vigil. Does that make you happy?”

“Very. Do let me know who of you will be carrying the kits, though. I’d like to have everything ready. Trying to find borage in the middle of Leaf-bare, while possible, is a real pain”

“Both, of course. The more, the merrier”

“We’ll see if you think the same when you have eight little fur balls running around and squeaking all the time. Or when you have to keep them all still in order to give them a bath!”

Ravensight frowned and went silent for a moment. Webfur used the time to take a big bite out of his meal.

“Joking aside… do you think that I’d make for a good queen?” He asked, feeling embarrassed.

“Probably not?” The medicine cat answered while chewing “Need milk to be a queen”

“Yeah, I know, but… I meant, the parenting part of being a queen? Like, looking after kits and stuff”

“There isn’t exactly a list of requisites for that. Based on the fact that you are worrying about it, maybe? You’d be surprised how many cats only ponder if they should be parents once the kits are already born”

“I see”

“Why do you ask? Do you _want_ to be a queen?”

“I don’t know”

“What do you mean you don’t know? You are asking very specific questions here”

“I’ve thought about it. As an option, I guess. I just want to feel less useless”

Webfur eyes him with concern, his meal totally forgotten. He wiped out the blood from his mouth with a paw and sat up straight.

“Elaborate” It was a command. Ravensight didn’t have the will to challenge it.

“I feel like I don’t do enough for the clan. Not like I used to, at least, and even then I only did it because I wanted an apprentice. I hunt, but it’s never enough. I train Shortpaw, but it’s so repetitive and dull, I think the only reason why I keep doing it it’s him. I won’t be able to repeat it with any other ‘paw. The clans aren’t fighting, so I can’t contribute in battles either. I just don’t know what I’ll do when Shortpaw becomes a warrior and I have to go back to being just that again, not a mentor”

“How about enjoying life with him a little bit?”

“Yes, of course I will. But that only makes me feel guiltier”

“Everyone struggles with a lack of purpose at some point. That’s normal”

“I just feel like I could look after kits”

“Those kits have fathers, Ravensight” Webfur sighed, covering his face with a paw

“Of course, but most of them are never present. I could be like a kind of… not replacement in the sentiment, but in function? Help feed their mothers and clean up and tell them stories? So apprentices don’t have to?”

“That’s quite the thing you are proposing…”

“I know it’s ludicrous and I’m just being mouse-brained and wasting your time. Just tell me that to my face already”

“No, I didn’t mean… look, I… suppose… I could, like, talk with Silentstar if you want me to. We could make you like a nursery guard or something. An honorary queen, if you want to call it that. It’s not unheard of, Thunderclan has had at least one tom in that position at some point, although he did have kits of his own in the nursery”

“What has Thunderclan not done before, I wonder? Also, it’s alright to learn from them, but not Shadowclan?”

“The situation is different. And I mean, they serve perfectly as a frame of reference, so I’m glad they are that adventurous”

“I suppose we should be grateful for that to an extent. Anyways, back to topic. My only problem is that I don’t think I could live in the nursery den. I love the moor too much. And walls are scary”

“Queens are not stuck there, they are allowed to leave. And you would be too, but… ok, wait. That is all well and good, and I am glad you are sharing all of this with me, but shouldn’t you be talking about these topics with someone more appropriate first? Someone who’s going to see himself affected by these decisions? Like, let’s say, Shortpaw?”

“I…” He shifted his paws in discomfort, his eyes focusing on the ground “I’m ashamed to bring it up to him”

Webfur moved closer to his friend, sitting next to him. He pressed their shoulders together and laid his tail over his back.

“Listen, Shortpaw is going to be your mate, right?”

“If… he wants to…”

“Right, sure. So he’s probably the cat you should be ashamed the least to bring these kind of things up. It concerns him too, in a way”

“I know, it’s just that… That’s yet another thing wrong with me. I guess it hasn’t clicked yet? That I’m no longer alone. I mean, in the sense that I need to think about Shortpaw when taking decisions and stuff”

“He doesn’t have to influence your every decision, by the way. That’s kind of creepy. Just the ones that involve you two as a unit”

Ravensight closed his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh.

“This whole mates thing is overly complicated…”

“Oh, just you wait. Everything is new and exciting now, while you are chasing and courting each other. The absolute greatest challenge of a couple is normal, everyday co-existence once the thrill of it all has worn off”

“It makes you wonder why cats even bother with long term relationships at all…”

“Next time you are lying next to Shortpaw, I want you to embrace him, look at him in the eyes and ask yourself that again. I’m sure you’ll reach an answer” He ended with a wink. Ravensight could feel his whisker starting to heat up and his heart swelling with happiness just imagining it.

“When did you became so wise?” He meowed with admiration.

“I’d have to say between my tenth and thirteenth visit to Starclan’s hunting grounds. It was most certainly not the twelfth, though. That one was just _weird_. A very odd elder with an accent appeared before me and told me my mother might as well have been a hamster and my father smelt of elderberries”

“…what?”

“Yeah, I don’t know either. Some cats think that just because they are dead, they can be rude just because”

“I... suppose some of them don’t change a lot from when they were alive”

“I guess, but coming back to Shortpaw: I want you enjoy yourselves more. Take him out for walks, go hunting together outside of patrols, go play and be silly together, that kind of stuff. He doesn’t need more training, you said it yourself. Also, tell him you love him. I know he’s aware, but he’ll appreciate hearing it from you”

Ravensight looked at his friend, blinking in confusion.

“Where is all of this coming from?”

Webfur looked away, his eyes unfocused.

“Just… what you said. Time passes. I just want you two to enjoy each other”

The warrior had a suspicion that something ominous was implied in that sentence, but Webfur said no more.

\-----------------------------

Ravensight walked out of the medicine den feeling both reinvigorated and unnerved, the combination of which made him not want to dwell into either feeling too much. He just wanted to see Shortpaw.

He found him, finally awake, sitting near the entrance. Immediately upon noticing his mentor, he got on his paws and bee-lined towards him.

“Good morning, Ravensight! How’s Webfur?” He purred when he got next to him.

“Hey, Shortpaw…” He started.

“Yes?”

“I-I love you” His apprentice’s eyes widened in surprise and confusion.

“Hey, if this is because of Webfur, I’m fine with…”

“No, this isn’t... I just… wanted you to know”

“I… wow…” Shortpaw laughed awkwardly and shook his head “I mean, I _knew,_ but… hearing you say it…” A smile from ear to ear adorned now his face “Thank you… I love you too”

Ravensight leaned forward and Shortpaw met him halfway, their noses touching gently.

“So, would you like to… I don’t know what cats do for fun… go for a walk around the lake?” The older tom offered “Go play in the sand? I’m not offering something boring, am I?”

“I’m tempted…” Shortpaw hesitated “You aren’t just setting me up for more chores, right?”

“No chores today. We’ll take the day for ourselves, how about it?”

“Well, if that’s the case…” The apprentice smiled again “I don’t mind what we do. Lead the way”


	12. Silentstar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ravensight: "Hey, how about we apply some logic and pedagogy here?"
> 
> Smallflower: "Sure"
> 
> Silentstar, chaneling her inner late Bluestar: "You are part of the rebel alliance and a traitor"
> 
> *6k words of a trainwreck I regret writing ensues*

** Chapter 12: **

** Silentstar **

“Alright, it’s your turn. Good luck!” Smallflower called, beckoning with her head towards the entrance of the burrow next to the Tallrock. Ravensight stood up at once and quickly padded inside, the she-cat winking at him and brushing her tail against his flank as he passed her.

Her support was appreciated, but it wasn’t really needed. He wasn’t worried in the slightest that Shortpaw wouldn’t be made a warrior together with his sister. However, he managed to catch that Smallflower seemed a little off. She hurried away from the entrance with her ears twitching constantly and her fur slightly bristled. He couldn’t think fast enough to ask her before she disappeared into the warriors’ den, which was even stranger.

Making a mental note to ask her later, he walked into the Leader’s den and respectfully bowed his head at Yelloweyes and Silentstar. The former was laying on one side of the small burrow, nonchalantly licking at one of her paws; the latter sat in the middle of the den, waiting for him. Both returned the gesture and the leader signaled with her tail to the small circle of moss in front of her. Ravensight understood the message and sat in front of his leader.

Immediately, he could feel as if ants were running all up and down his pelt, his tail swaying as subtly as he could to keep himself distracted. Once again, he was within walls and it took all of his self-control to not look at them. He was terrified of what he’d see in the earth. He reassured himself that it’d be just a short while before he could leave this awful hole again.

Calling the place the Leader’s “Den” was a bit of a stretch, as the place was less of a den than the Warriors’ was. It was barren inside, with no permanent bedding, and the place didn’t even have a lot of traces of Silentstar’s scent. The Windclan leader slept in the open, next to her deputy and warriors. Nobody had it as a permanent home, but rather it was occasionally used for meetings or during bad weather. Even the moss where they currently sat had been hastily brought in that very same day and would likely be discarded before the moon was fully on the night sky.

But, Ravensight concluded, naming it the ‘Burrow that Sometimes is Used by the Leader as a Meeting Place but Most of the Time is Just a Useless Hole’ didn’t sound very serious or appropriate. So Leader’s Den it was.

A random, furtive thought went through his mind and Ravensight found himself wondering if that could technically qualify as a valid Tribe cat name. How would their friends call them? ‘Burrow’? ´Place´? ´Hole´?

A smirk found its way to his face and he had to consciously suppress the purr that threatened to escape his throat. He amazed himself with the silly things he could conjure up sometimes.

“In a good mood today, I see” Silentstar meowed suddenly “That’s good. I like happy mentors. It usually foretells good news about their apprentices”

“As if anything but the best could be expected from my kits!” Yelloweyes commented, not even diverting her attention from her paw. Although, Ravensight managed to catch the humorous tone in her voice. Silentstar rolled her eyes and subtly shook her head.

“Of course, my deputy” The leader then sat straighter, paying full attention to the black tom “So, Ravensight, has Shortpaw gone through his final assessments?”

“He has” He stated firmly.

“Very well. How did he perform in his hunting assessment?”

“Five pieces caught. A rabbit, a mouse, a squirrel and two birds. He applied the appropriate techniques for each catch and the hunt was performed relatively quicker than standard”

“Quick enough to make a special mention?”

Ravensight paused, noticing Yelloweyes had looked up with interest.

“No, I wouldn’t say that” He shifted on his paws uncomfortably while Silentstar nodded.

“Honesty is good, young warrior” The deputy reassured him, switching her attention to her other paw. The next words were barely perceptible “Especially when it comes to your superiors…”

“Anything else to add?”

“Nothing, Silentstar”

“Alright. Let’s talk about his battle training then. That is, in fact, the main subject I want to discuss here. It’s come to my attention that the final assessment was… unorthodox”

“I did some changes, yes”

“May I know what made you do it?”

He blinked.

“…Excuse me?”

“What made you think you had the authority to decide that?”

“I just… thought it would be more beneficial for them” He defended himself, self-consciously licking his chest “I didn’t see the point of just pitting them against each other, over and over again. Facing warriors meant new opponents with fighting styles they’d be unaccustomed to and a better way to test their ability to think on the spot”

“Dear, that sort of initiative is commendable, but would you like to know what else you did not see that is vitally important in these matters?” Yelloweyes sat up on her haunches, narrowing her eyes at him “The need to inform us”

“You took some of my warriors away from camp without permission” Silentstar added “I was just about to send a patrol to look for them when I was informed by one of their mates where they were”

Ravensight considered mentioning that neither of the she-cats were present in the camp at that moment and he didn’t want to waste time, but thought better of it.

“But… it was just for a morning?”

“It did not cross your mind that, perhaps, I would have tasks for those warriors?” The deputy continued, taking a step towards the warrior and fixing him with a stare “That they were idle in the camp for a reason?”

“…I don’t know what to say…” His gaze went back and forth between the two she-cats, trying desperately to come up with something. Were his actions really that severe? “I’m deeply sorry… I didn’t think things through” Ravensight could feel their gazes burying into his pelt and suddenly his paws were the most interesting thing in the world.

“Was this your idea?” Silentstar questioned him.

He forced himself to look back into his leader’s eyes.

“Yes, mine alone. I came up with it”

“Yet another lie, then” The leader’s eyes narrowed at him, her voice taking a more threatening tone all of a sudden “Smallflower claimed the same. That she, on her own, devised everything. So who’s lying? You, her or both?”

“This generation of warriors is undoubtedly very loyal to each other, it would seem” Yelloweyes commented.

Despite how distressed he was by the whole situation, Ravensight subconsciously agreed with his deputy. His clanmates had basically jumped at the idea of helping him out with the assessment. He couldn’t help but wonder if that was due to having so few apprentices this season, so Windclan was specially attached to these two.

The more cynical part of him, however, thought that they just might have wanted to escape whatever task Yelloweyes had for them. He just happened to show up with a noble excuse.

“Yes, that would seem to be the case. Which, if you ask me, is even worse” Silentstar smiled, but no friendliness showed in her eyes. They were hostile and predatory “You used their loyalty to get what you wanted”

“No, I‘d never do that!” He defended himself “I just asked for help! I would’ve done the spars myself if I was a better fighter!”

“An older warrior approaches some junior ones with a request for help. They cannot in good faith refuse because, as far as they are concerned, the leader _must_ have given her blessing. It involves the only apprentices the clan has, after all. They are unaware that is all just an invention of their clanmate” Yelloweyes explained “If you were to ask me, that seems quite manipulative”

“But it wasn’t my intention! I know it might look bad, but…!”

“I don’t _care_ about intentions! I care about _actions_!” Silentstar spat, taking by surprise both the warrior and the deputy present there “And you two acted _behind my back_ and dragged my warriors into it!”

“I…”

“I don’t believe for a second that Smallflower had anything to do in the planning of this” She continued “Oh, no! She’s a good warrior and good warriors don’t make plans like that, they do what they’re told. _That_ it’s what makes it worse. The other cats you involved? They’re excused here. They’re young and don’t know better. Smallflower’s actions, on the other paw, are treason”

“Treason!?” Ravensight’s eyes widened in fear, his ears suddenly flattening against his skull.

“She _does_ know better and she still went through with this!” He wasn’t sure he had ever seen Silentstar this angry before. Or rather, he wasn’t sure he had ever seen _anyone_ this angry before “I knew that it was you the one behind this! She should’ve stopped you the moment you suggested the idea, but instead chose to follow you! Not her leader, YOU! That’s treason!” He was too transfixed in her burning eyes to look anywhere else, but he could swear he was able to hear her claws unsheathing and sinking into the ground “Are you not going to defend yourself? Do you accept your charges, traitor!?”

“Alright, that’s quite enough, dear” Yelloweyes approached the enraged leader, with a soothing tone in her voice that Ravensight honestly couldn’t believe had come out of her “This is not what we discussed. These warriors were rather… irreverent, yes, but I do not consider it fair to call it treason” She sat down next to her, gently placing the top of her tail on the leader’s shoulders.

Silentstar’s gaze snapped to her deputy and the older she-cat visibly flinched when their eyes met. For a few intense moments, the world turned upside down and nothing made sense. A world where Yelloweyes felt even the slightest bit of fear couldn’t possibly be real. Ravensight briefly considered clawing his own ears until he could force himself to wake up, because he was _clearly_ dreaming. Nothing else could explain all the irrational accusations and personality shifts that he had witnessed.

But, perhaps Shortpaw was right once again, as he often was. Maybe he didn’t actually know these cats.

“They went against the Code!” Silentstar growled.

“There is not a thing in the Code that states…”

“There is if I say so!” The leader interrupted, but this time Yelloweyes didn’t react. She defiantly took a step forward instead “My word is the Warrior Code!”

Yelloweyes closed her eyes and let out a long sigh, filled with feelings he couldn’t understand. He wondered, how many leaders she had seen? How many mistakes had she witness? She was a senior warrior by the time Spottedstar was an apprentice, if he recalled correctly.

She had so many moons under her eyes and so many stories that she was unwilling to tell. Ravensight prayed that he still had time to get to know the Windclan deputy a little bit better. He was, after all, hoping to enter her family. It was of great comfort that she seemed at least open to that idea, if reluctantly so.

“Are we truly enforcing that one, now?” Was that disbelief? Or maybe disappointment? “Is that the sort of leader you wish to be seen as?”

Silentstar held her gaze for a moment, seconds that felt like seasons, before her eyes looked down with uncertainty. She slowly sat on her haunches again and remained silent once more, her breathing slowing down and her hair lying flat again.

“No” She finally conceded “No, we aren’t. Sorry for even mentioning it”

“Nevertheless, a proper leader should not apologize in that manner in front of one of their warriors, my dear” Yelloweyes teased, the previous mood apparently tossed to a side. The other she-cat shook her head and looked back at their deputy with half-closed eyes.

“Training with you has been nothing but mixed messages, you know?” The tone wasn’t quite friendly yet, but it was slowly getting there.

“Then I must conclude you have learned nothing, as you would be accustomed to that if you had” Both she-cats softly purred in amusement at what Ravensight guessed must have been a joke between them.

“If it means anything…” He felt like the mood was good enough now to speak again, though he realized the situation was still tense and in need of defusing “I’ll deny it ever happened if I’m asked”

“Ah, what a fine warrior!” Yelloweyes said in that characteristic tone of hers, while almost mockingly pointing at him with her tail “He is already learning!”

“Good for him” Silentstar added “He could stand to learn faster, though”

“Oh, he does his best!” The deputy purred and, for a moment, Ravensight found himself offering a small smile to her. However, that was short lived “Regardless, punishments are still in order, yes?

“Most definitely”

“But I thought…!”

“Relax, you aren’t a traitor. I might have gotten a bit carried away with that” Silentstar shook her head, while Yellowstar nodded approvingly from the side “But you still went behind my back and that can’t just be ignored. The proper procedure would be to take away your apprentice, but that’d be pointless now. I’ll be making them warriors in the coming days, after all. So, what then?” She rose a paw to her lips in contemplation, though Ravensight couldn’t tell if it was genuine or not.

“Apprentice duties are a good start. We cannot make the elders wait moons until we have new apprentices, and it is always useful to have extra paws around camp”

“That sounds acceptable to me. Ravensight will take care of that until the kits in the nursery reach six moons of age. Smallflower will contribute when she has no other duties to perform”

The black warrior was still not convinced that he’d done anything worth punishing, but if his punishment was just to look after elders, fixing dens and feeding queens, he was willing to accept defeat. He wasn’t eager to make an enemy out of Silentstar, especially not now.

Besides, although he wasn’t quite sure of the kits age, they couldn’t be younger than four moons. It wouldn’t be a long ordeal. And he had entertained the idea of looking after the clan kits after all, so this could serve as a trial run of sorts.

It still didn’t sit right with him. It should have been his decision and he’d been robbed of that.

“I would imagine, since he will be essentially demoted back to apprentice temporarily, he will need new restrictions?”

“Naturally. Ravensight can’t leave camp without notifying another warrior and he’s strictly forbidden from approaching any border. Only the camp itself and the center of the moor is allowed”

Ravensight didn’t find that particularly surprising and also didn’t see it as a very negative thing. It wasn’t like being mostly confined to the camp bothered him or anything, though it may limit how much time he’d be able to spend with Shortpaw. He’d miss the open moor and the peaceful solitude it provided, though.

But he’d wait. They were young, and Shortpaw deserved to enjoy his first moons as a warrior without Ravensight pestering him. There was no need to rush anything. There would be time to figure it out.

He imagined that the grey and white tom would enjoy teasing him while he cleaned up the queens’ bedding or took care of ticks, but it would be alright. That made him smile on the inside, actually.

“And lastly, both you and Smallflower are forbidden from attending Gatherings for the next three…” she paused “No, that too few. You are forbidden from attending gatherings for the next six moons!”

Honestly, that sounded more like a boon than any kind of punishment in Ravensight’s mind. If he’d known he could get banned from gathering from doing these kind of things, he might have done it sooner.

Or perhaps not, he reconsidered. Breaking the rules still felt bad, even if he was unsure which exactly he had broken. Still, the option would be there.

“Actually…” Yelloweyes approached the leader, whispering something in her ear. They twitched suddenly, as Silentstar’s eyes widened in realization.

“Oh, is that so? Then it won’t do, no…” She focused her eyes on him again and loudly cleared her throat, a foreboding smile appearing in Yelloweyes’ face as she returned to her spot “In light of some new information, I’ll have to change that last part. Smallflower is banned from Gatherings; but for _you,_ attendance will be mandatory” The black tom stiffened at the news, his ears and tail shooting up in alarm. That most definitively sounded more like a punishment “Additionally, you are to remain at Yelloweyes’ side at all times. When she joins the other deputies, you will sit in the spot right in front of her, so she can keep an eye on you”

Ravensight knew that every single hair in his body was starting to bristle. He was faintly aware that his ears were pointing backwards and pressed against his skull again, though this time not out of fear. There was something caught in his throat that he couldn’t quite decide if it was a growl or a yowl, but he kept it there nonetheless. Was he gritting his teeth too? He probably was. Although, to his credit, he managed to be subtle about it.

He looked like a mess and he knew it. Yelloweyes eyed him with curiosity, no doubt waiting for a reaction.

He just nodded.

“Very well, Silentstar”

He felt angry about the whole situation. But most of all, he was unbearably frustrated.

He was fine with rules. He was fine with the Warrior Code. He was all for implementing punishments in order to maintain it.

But all of this felt so unfair to him. Why was he even been punished for? For thinking about his clan above all else? Because that was what he was doing when he changed the assessments. Wasn’t it his duty as a mentor to guarantee the best training possible for the apprentices? He was under the impression that was the point. His mother had claimed so and she wouldn’t lie to him like that.

“You must understand that everything that happens in this Clan, from the most trivial to the most pertinent, _must_ be informed to me. I can’t be caught unaware of _anything!_ ” Silentstar insisted.

“And she, indeed, means everything” The deputy confirmed

He took a deep breath to calm himself and nodded again. So that was the problem? The secrecy?

“I understand. It won’t happen again”

“I sincerely hope that it won’t. Next time your initiative gets out of control, remember this conversation, and make sure you get my approval first”

It wasn’t like he’d meant to keep it hidden. Like, it could hardly be considered a secret, considering he publicly asked for volunteers. And he had tried to consult Silentstar about it, but she couldn’t be found anywhere near camp, so what was he supposed to do?

Well, he could’ve waited, he supposed. But at the time, with how lenient Silentstar was on a lot of subjects, he’d assumed that it wouldn’t have been such a big deal. Clearly, he must have consumed catmint instead of prey that morning, because he had missed the mark on his prediction by a lot.

He’d heard rumors about the controlling nature of Silentstar, but being a victim of fake rumors himself, he was reluctant to give them any credit. Though, controlling wasn’t the correct definition. According to the whispers, the Windclan leaders just... liked to know things. She liked cats approaching her and telling her stuff. She would even let minor transgressions to the Code slide, so long as she’d been informed in advance. She was just obsessed with _knowing_.

It’d sounded so bizarre, Ravensight wouldn’t have believed it even if he was another cat. Needless to say, it didn’t seem so farfetched now…

“I suppose we are done here, no?” Yelloweyes spoke and the warrior couldn’t believe how glad he was to hear her.

“I believe so… unless…” She had the _audacity_ to blink at him like that! The growing feeling of frustration that gnawed at the back of his mind was slowly morphing into anger “My dear warrior, do you anything else you would like to share?” He kept it under control, already making a mental note of which specific tree he would use to let out all this pent up aggression. This was his leader, whether he like it or not. It was amazing how his opinion of her had shifted so quickly today.

But then all of that turned into dread. Before he knew what he was doing, his eyes turned to Yelloweyes and a cold shiver went down his spine. She gave him an odd look in return, tilting her head in confusion, as if trying to decipher what his eyes were trying to say.

Shortpaw wasn’t… a secret, was he? That young cat had made absolutely no efforts in concealing his infatuation with his mentor. And Ravensight considered he reciprocated the best he could, always within what was appropriate for their positions.

Ravensight didn’t think it was a secret. But then again, neither was what caused this whole debacle so he wasn’t sure anymore.

Silentstar narrowed her eyes, followed his gaze and apparently guessed what was going on in his mind once she and Yelloweyes looked at each other. She turned back to him, purring and waving one in her paws dismissively.

“Oh, you’re adorable! But no, that doesn’t count. That’s not a secret!” She flicked both of her ears and puffed out her chest, tilting her chin slightly upwards as if she was proud “I’ve known since before Yelloweyes… or even you, probably!” Realization dawned on Yelloweyes and she rolled her eyes, grumbling to herself something that he didn’t understand, but Silentstar’s apparently did.

Ravensight pondered briefly about the leader’s words. Now that he thought about it, he had some vague recollection of Webfur telling him he’d inform Silentstar something about Shortpaw early on in his apprenticeship. He always assumed it’d been the episode about his father, but now he reconsidered. He felt an odd mix of relief and further frustration.

So, Webfur was in on this whole controlling charade too, huh…

When he came back to the conversation, Silentstar had once again shifted her attention towards her deputy, who in turn was scowling intensively back at her.

“Oh, is that a challenge?” He managed to catch the tail end of their exchange, just as the younger she-cat turned to him again, smiling mischievously “So, dear Ravensight, as you heard previously, I’ll be making Shortpaw a warrior soon”

“Yes. He deserves it” The only good thing to come out of this whole mess, Ravensight thought.

“Have you discussed what that’ll mean for the both of you?” He did a double take on that, but she just leaned a bit towards him, oblivious or most likely uncaring.

“I don’t think that’s the sort of a thing a leader should…” He started, his accumulated frustration giving him the valor to challenge his leader, but he was stopped in his tracks with just a tail flick from Yelloweyes

“Just answer her. Satisfy her curiosity and then we can forget we even conversed” The deputy seemed as comfortable hearing the exchange as Ravensight was in participating in it. Windclan’s leader remained, looking at him expectantly.

Somehow, he felt that curiosity wasn’t the motivating factor behind the questions anymore.

“We have, somewhat” He answered carefully “But training always took priority before any personal stuff” They were young and they had time. If Shortpaw didn’t become a warrior, then any plan or hope they could have would be pointless. That was his logic.

“Good, as it should. Regardless, have you two decided then?”

He wasn’t sure he wanted to ask.

“Decided what?”

He braced himself for whatever was to come. Yelloweyes seemed to already know.

“Who’s going to be the tom?”

A deeply troubled and confused expression took hold of his face.

“What…?” Whatever part of his consciousness handled coherent thought was sent reeling to the back of his mind.

“You heard me”

“Silentstar, please!” Yelloweyes interjected suddenly, approaching her leader and looking even more uncomfortable than before “You have proven your point and you have no shame. Stop torturing him already”

“Don’t tell me you aren’t curious” She meowed back.

“No!”

“Hush!” She silenced her, almost slapping her on the lips with her tail.

Yelloweyes hung her head in defeat while covering her face with one of her paws. 

Ravensight stared at his leader, not really sure what to say. Mainly because he wasn’t even sure what was being asked. The situation wasn’t foreign to him; he’d heard his fair share of questions about his life choices. He infinitively preferred them over the odd stares, no doubts about it. But this one was absolutely the most outlandish.

“Both?” He chose to take the question at face value, halfway through realizing that he was probably being too naïve again, but answering something was still better than just staring like a startled rabbit “That’s sort of the point of relationships like ours?” He hoped he didn’t sound condescending, just in case it was an actual, genuine question.

Silentstar stared at him in… well, silence. The moment stretched a bit too much for Ravensight’s taste. He was sure the concept wasn’t that hard to wrap your head around. But just when it was becoming even more awkward than what it already was, she stood up.

“As good of an answer as any, I suppose” She clicked her tongue, seemingly satisfied by the answer “Wouldn’t you agree?” She added, casting a glance towards her deputy, who only grunted in response. Then she left the den, passing quietly next to Ravensight. She stopped suddenly to press her nose against his shoulder in farewell, but continued her way before he could reciprocate the gesture.

Thus, he was left alone in that burrow, in a state of complete bewilderment, together with a very flustered Yelloweyes.

Not knowing what to do, if Silentstar was coming back and he was supposed to wait or if he was allowed to leave already, he just stared at his deputy. The she-cat, for her part, finally removed her paw from her face. She lifted her gaze but didn’t look at Ravensight, her eyes drifted towards the burrow’s exit instead. She opened and closed her mouth several times, as if the next sentence was physically painful to speak.

“I am awfully sorry you had to witness her like that…” She finally said “I swear, she is not usually that… intense?”

“I’m still not sure what I did to make her that angry” He admitted, shrugging and shaking his head.

“You do know. She was very clear”

“Is not informing of a training session really severe enough to be branded a traitor?”

“In my opinion? No. It is barely worth a warning to not do that again. For Silentstar? Yes”

“I can’t believe this… why didn’t you said something? You’re the deputy!”

“Do you think I did not?” She countered, taking a step forward, finally looking at him “She wanted you exiled, I persuaded her to just have you scolded!”

“She would exile me over this?”

“If I am completely honest, I must admit I am not sure. At the same time, I would not tempt my luck with her” She shook her head and flicked her ears, briefly looking in the direction of the entrance before continuing “Truthfully, the warriors you borrowed had nothing to do at that time. And it was the fact that you withheld information, not the information in particular, what angered her. Or more accurately, as you youngling may phrase it, what drove her over the edge”

“What do you mean?” He asked, frowning and tilting his head.

Yelloweyes sighed.

“Silentstar despises secrets she is not a part of”

“I gathered as much”

“Hearing from second paw accounts upsets her. And if she has to _ask_ for information, she becomes furious”

Ravensight thought about his activities, the ones he could remember at least, ever since that morning with Webfur. An unnerving conclusion dawned in his mind.

“So I assume I’ve been on thin ice for a while”

“Precisely. The absolute last straw was Aspentail informing her that you met a kittypet near the border and requested privacy”

“That was my father!” He argued.

“She did not know. That was the problem”

“That sounds like madness to me”

“And maybe she is mad, but she is also our leader. I must support her”

Emboldened by this admittance, he pushed on.

“How can you support someone so tyrannical!?”

“She is not that! If she is informed, she tends to turn a blind eye to whatever it is you are planning to do. She is one of the most lenient leaders Windclan has ever had!”

“She sounds like a cat crazier than a fox in a fit!”

“ENOUGH!” Yelloweyes screeched and all that bravado that Ravensight felt a few seconds ago evaporated “You will not disrespect a clan leader like that! This conversation is over!”

They were left panting, almost right in each other’s face, their wild eyes piercing into the one in front. Ravensight wondered how close they had come to actually unsheathing their claws and, should that have happened, if he could even hold his own against his deputy. Now that he could think clearly, he was extremely glad the deputy has stopped them before everything escalated out of control.

He had absolutely no idea how he would face Shortpaw if he had to explain he had clawed his mother.

If he survived the experience, that is.

Slowly, their fur settled down again and their eyed returned to normal. They sat down in front of one another as their breathing normalized too. Yelloweyes licked one of her front paws and dragged it over her ear. Ravensight gave a couple of slow and deliberate licks to his chest.

They were stalling and they both knew it. Why was he even there anymore? He could barely remember what the purpose of this whole meeting had been at this point.

He wanted to leave, but he didn’t dare to ask for permission. He also subconsciously fought back the desire to just bolt straight out of there. Why did he have to respect Windclan’s figures of authority so much? He repressed a groan as he silently cursed his mother’s education.

“If anything…” Yelloweyes started, her voice carrying an odd warmth that Ravensight wasn’t expecting, like an elder talking to a kit. He realized just how old and frail she looked of all a sudden, now that she wasn’t screaming at him “I am glad you got to witness this in a controlled environment. It will most certainly help you in your future duties”

The warrior very deliberately chose to ignore the implications behind that. He didn’t want to argue anymore. Seeing the old she-cat like this almost awoke a sense of pity within him, like he had to protect her. She was, technically, an elder after all. If she were to ask him to take her place, so she could retire and be happy with his kits during her last moons, he would do it in half a heartbeat. He would hate every second of it, but by Starclan he would give that to her.

But Yelloweyes wouldn’t take kindly to that kind of considerations. She would die a deputy, like many other had before, that was clear to everyone. Windclan deputies didn’t retire.

“If this was a controlled environment, I don’t want to know what happens when it gets out of control”

“Oh, that is truly a sight to behold, I assure you!” She giggled softly at her own joke, and the warrior joined in too.

“So… what now?”

“Well, you are a warrior that has just received orders from his leader. Follow your orders”

“Shortpaw is still becoming a warrior, right?”

“Yes, dear. He is. You heard Silentstar”

“Good. That’s what matters here”

“Were you worried? You trained him well”

“You raised him well, too”

“Of course I did. It could have been better, if I had the time. But I was the deputy and Silentstar needed guidance. A second apprenticeship, if you will” She flicked one of her ears, sporting a small smile now “It is a work in progress”

“He loves you so very much” Unexpectedly, Ravensight felt almost giddy at the situation. He had wanted to talk with Yelloweyes for a while and… well, they were talking about Shortpaw.

The deputy must have noticed his mood, he wasn’t the best at hiding emotions most of the time. When she answered, her tone betrayed apprehension.

“And you too. We can hardly have a conversation without you being mentioned” Her eyes glinted with something Ravensight couldn’t quite place but made him feel unease. A doubt he often ignored, mostly because he convinced himself it wasn’t important, reared its head in his mind. They were alone here, it was his opportunity to ask.

“I’ve noticed…” He started with some uncertainty “You hardly speak to us. When we’re together, that is”

“I would have thought you would see that as a positive”

“You turn your head to the other side whenever you see us sitting next to each other or sharing prey. You’ve sometimes refused to acknowledge my greetings or Shortpaw’s. You seem to pretend like… we aren’t there”

“Ask your question already”

“You don’t approve of us, do you?” He issued the question he had wanted to ask for quite some time now. He wasn’t overwhelmed with sadness or anything when the answer came, but his heart did ache a bit when Yelloweyes didn’t even need a heartbeat to consider.

“I do not approve of _you_ ”

“Oh… I-I see” He blinked at her. He words stung more than he anticipated. Or maybe the almost monotone way she voiced it was what hurt him the most? Like it was an obvious thing. Why _wouldn’t_ she disapprove of him? “I understand. Thank you for… your sincerity”

She scoffed at him.

“Do not be harsh on yourself. I am fully aware that I am the issue” He stared at her in confusion, as she shifted closed to him “Shortpaw could walk in here with Firestar himself as his mate, and I would still find that not good enough for him”

He knew vaguely of the legendary Thunderclan leader, a cat of honor and loyalty beyond compare. Extremely handsome too, he had to assume, seeing as every physical description of the cat he’d ever heard started with ‘a handsome ginger tom’. You don’t get that attached so firmly to your name for nothing.

“You are…” She continued “Tolerable, I suppose. And at the end of the day, it is not me who has to like you, is it?” She offered him a small, tender smile, with the warmth that only a mother could convey. He returned a bright one of his own.

“Thank you, Yelloweyes. Coming from you, that means a lot to me” He leaned forward and pressed his nose against her shoulder, feeling his gesture returned shortly after.

“Listen, I do not imagine why you would want to, with how I treat you and all; but should you ever need to talk or need help, just approach me. I would promise I do not bite, but as you know, it is part of the job and I have a reputation to maintain”

“Of course. It’d be a disaster if Windclan’s deputy came out as a softie” Laughing softly, he stood up and padded towards the entrance “May Starclan light your path, Yelloweyes” He told her as he left.

As soon as he was outside, her reply reached his ears

“Yours too, dear”


End file.
